Are You Kidding Me?

So this is the best President Bush could do for a SCOTUS nominee?

I'm no legal scholar, so I don't know if I'm overreacting when I say I'm thoroughly disappointed by Bush's choice of Harriet Miers to succeed Sandra Day O'Connor, but this smacks of nothing more than cronyism and the president's desire to avoid a fight during the confirmation process. And I've already expressed my displeasure with Bush's recent statement regarding the importance of "diversity" on the high court, so I also can't help but think that if he was so committed to nominating a woman or a minority, there were a helluva lot better candidates to choose from.

It's not exactly a secret that presidents will dole out favors for their friends, so I don't think I'm even as annoyed with Bush in particular when it comes to this as I am with politicians in general. But we're not talking about an appointment to an environmental commission here; we're talking about the Supreme Court! One would think Bush could have selected a nominee with a proven track record, or at least someone in the pipeline with some experience as a judge. You know, in the mold of Thomas and Scalia .. yada, yada, yada. Why do the words, "Read my lips" keep pounding inside my head this morning?!

Perhaps I could understand such a pick if Bush was still in his first term. But I can't help but think he's simply trying to "play nice" with the opposition, an effort Republicans apparently refuse to believe is futile.

I guess we'll see what happens during the confirmation process, but Bush's ostensible desire to avoid a fight in the Senate will look comical if more Republicans than Democrats actually end up voting against Miers. That's absurd, you say? Well, yes, probably. But if Republicans have even the least bit of fear that Miers will turn out to be another Souter, they may want to consider that Bush will be out of politics - and thus free from the political ramifications of such a decision - by the time the nationwide fallout in the Republican party really gets underway.