She's Outta There!
The nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court has been withdrawn, though whether Miers jumped or was pushed is unclear.
This is a very smart move for the Bush White House (which makes me think Miers was pushed). On a day when they're already expecting bad news from special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, give the media some more bad news—a hit that the White House was going to have to take sooner or later. The weekend talk shows will be filled with chatter, as will the Sunday papers, and then, hopefully for the White House, next week is a new beginning.
That's the plan, anyway.
As I (and lots of others) predicted*, Bush is using executive privilege as an excuse. "It is clear that senators would not be satisfied until they gained access to internal documents concerning advice provided during her tenure as the White House - disclosures that would undermine a president's ability to receive candid counsel," he said in a statement.
I'm unconvinced by this argument; a White House nominee to the Supreme Court whose only real paper trail is her legal advice in the White House is an unusual, exceptional situation.
Moreover I will admit to some disappointment. First, I would have been curious to read Miers' advice to the White House, especially on war- and torture-related issues.
And wouldn't the hearings have been entertaining?
But for Miers, this is a good thing. Washington will quickly erase her, as the tide smooths over a footprint in the sand, and she can return to
a job better suited to her abilities.
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I wrote on Tuesday about the executive privilege argument: "This feels like an exit strategy. Bush can withdraw the nomination and simultaneously take the high ground, saying that he's fighting to preserve executive privilege for his successors.
"Here's a general rule that I believe about Washington: When you can imagine how a scandal will end, the very act of imagining a denouement hastens its realization."
