Miers retires

There really was no choice:

President George W. Bush's nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, White House counsel Harriet Miers, abruptly withdrew from consideration on Thursday after fierce criticism from the right and the left about her credentials for the lifetime job.

Bush said in a statement he reluctantly accepted her withdrawal and would move in a timely manner to fill the vacancy left open by the pending retirement of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

It's said that one's character can be defined as the byproduct of how mistakes are handled.  President Bush made a mistake with the Miers nomination.  I'm hoping that his next choice will be properly credentialed, a strict constructionist and someone who conservative can not only get behind but get in the face of those on the left who will attempt to block the appointment.

Now is not the time to put forth a nominee that the left will embrace.  Now is the time for a nominee to be named that will challenge the weak-kneed Republicans in the Senate to grow a spine.

My expectations of the Senate living up to that challenge are low sadly but much higher is the hope that President Bush will make amends.

Juliette has similar thoughts:

Will the Senate GOP be willing to fight for a Janice Rogers Brown now? Hopefully, the president will allow us to see what they are truly made of.

MORE: Michelle, as usual, is all over it:

Exit strategy hinged on refusal to release privileged White House documents. (Ed Morrissey and Charles Krauthammer called it.) Whatever. We know the real reasons. Now, onto a candidate that conservatives can be proud of, okay?

STILL MORE: La Shawn is harshly pessimistic about the next choice:

I predict George Bush will nominate another unqualified person. Perhaps his tailor. Or his dentist. Or his dog walker.
What did Bush learn? Maybe he learned that the people who put him in office actually expect him to be a conservative with common sense and choose someone qualified to sit on the highest court in the land, and not an unknown quantity crony. We’ll see.

Comments

[chuckels]

Let's see now...what if Bill would have nominated someone too...conservative...I wonder if the dems would have fought him on it? Would there have been charges of,"Oh my gosh...the wacco left has taken over the democratic party!" I wonder what the price would have been to pay for resisting? Would that have been a sign of strength or weakness?

Probably know the answer...but am curious to see if Republicans come out stronger or more fractured after this.

chuck