Miers: Batten Down the Hatches
The New York
Times chooses my second option about President Bush and his nomination of Harriet Miers to SCOTUS below: that Bush has no appetite for a political fight right now.
I think he's got one on his hands anyway, though not necessarily from the people you'd expect.
Liberals are going to attack Miers because she looks vulnerable right out of the box, and also because her qualifications are suspect.
But more damaging to Bush, I think, is the fact that his base already doesn't like this choice. Troll the conservative websites, if you're inclined. Or consider this quote from a
National Review editorial:
John Roberts was a “stealth nominee” in that he did not have declared positions on such questions as the constitutionality of affirmative action and anti-abortion laws. But Roberts possessed stellar professional qualifications, had impressed everyone who came in contact with him, had written well-reasoned judicial opinions, and had conservative legal heavyweights willing to vouch for his soundness. These things are either not present, or are present to a smaller degree, in Miers’s case. Being a Bush loyalist and friend is not a qualification for the Supreme Court.My prediction: that in trying not to pick a fight, Bush looks weak, and therefore has invited a fight. I think he's in real trouble on this one. If I were leading the Democratic charge, I'd compare Miers to FEMA's
Michael Brown—another example of cronyism in the country's most important jobs.
