Miers Withdraws -- Did we win or lose?
Miers Withdraws Nomination to U.S. Supreme Court
WASHINGTON — Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination to be a U.S. Supreme Court justice Thursday in the face of strong criticism from President Bush's most conservative supporters, who say she doesn't have the qualifications or experience necessary to serve on the nation's highest court.
Miers, who President Bush had nominated in the beginning of the month to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, notified Bush on Wednesday night about her decision and delivered a letter to him dated Thursday.
Read the rest here.
The Smoking Gun has Miers withdrawal letter to President Bush here.
I'll add links to reactions of some other bloggers to this post later, but for now I want to record my own initial reaction while it's fresh in my mind and not influenced by what others have written.
First, based on other examples of Miers' writing I've seen in recent weeks I doubt seriously that she composed that withdrawal letter herself. If she did (which I doubt), maybe some (not all) of the criticism that's been aimed her way was unjustified.
It's tempting at this point to stand out by the road shouting "We won!" but did we win, or did we just not lose as badly as we could have? In my mind, nobody "won." George Bush created a lose/lose situation when he nominated Miers to begin with, and the best we could hope for from that point onward was to minimize the damage, which I think is what just happened. Hugh Hewitt has done an excellent job recently of explaining some of the ways a Miers withdrawal could hurt the Republican party and I don't think his fears were unfounded. Anything the weakens the Republican party and, therefore, strengthens the Democrats is not good for the nation. On the other hand, in this case I think giving Harriet Miers a vote on the Supreme Court would have been even worse.
I'm going to post this and go read some of my favorite blogs. I'll be back later with some excerpts and links.
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Linking to Stop The ACLU's Miers Withdrawal Reaction Open Trackbacks post.
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Dafydd ab Hugh:
... At this point, the best thing for the party would be if Bush were to nominate one of the hard-core judicially conservative women whose names have been floated... and I hope he does; but Hugh Hewitt's prediction of the Democratic response has already come true: ...
Michelle Malkin:
What a relief. Sad, pensive, what-a-waste relief. Not happy-joy-joy relief.
Michelle has a great link roundup started in her post.
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John Hinderaker:
I feel sorry for Miers; she was caught in a crossfire, and never really had a chance to speak for herself. But what we've seen so far may be only a tune-up for what awaits the next nominee.
A lot of conservative pundits are feeling triumphant today, but there are millions of rank and file Republicans who supported the Miers nomination, many of whom--including many dyed in the wool conservatives--believed, rightly or wrongly, that the criticism of Miers from the right was arrogant and elitist. Miers was a poor choice for a number of reasons, not least because her nomination needlessly divided the party.
There are lots of sighs of relief this morning, and understandably so; but they're premature, I think. Who knows who the next nominee might be? The beginning of the Miers problem was that President Bush committed to naming a woman before he had a woman lined up for the job. We know that he chose Miers only after "several" women turned him down. We don't know how many said no, or who they were; so at this point, no one knows who is left in the "woman" pool. I really hope that at this point, Bush forgets about diversity and nominates the best person for the job. But is there any reason to assume that he will do so?
Jay at Stop The ACLU:
The President says he will name someone else in a timely manner. In the mean time we still have O’Connor. Many were leery about this pick from the beginning, and now the President will have the chance to put someone on the Supreme Court that will not rule from the bench, and will also have the backing of the majority of the Conservative base! Many will be happy with this news. But now the question is….who will be his next pick?
Ed Morrissey:
The face-saving withdrawal option presented by Sam Brownback and Linsday Graham took only a matter of days to get recognized by the White House. Good for them. It won't save them from some criticism, but it will make this into the nine-day wonder it should always have been.
Now can we nominate a candidate whose qualities and track record presumes we control the Senate?
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More from Ed Morrissey: No conservative or Republican should feel like gloating over the withdrawal of Harriet Miers today, although perhaps a feeling of relief would be understandable. Bush made a mistake in nominating Miers, but it wasn't Miers' mistake -- and she acted honorably in withdrawing her name once it became clear that her nomination enjoyed little support among Republicans in the Senate and elsewhere. She apparently will remain on Bush's staff as White House counsel, which is where she should have stayed.
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Glenn Reynolds:
She's to be commended for doing this. The White House made a dreadful error in nominating her, which it compounded by its ham-handed efforts in support of her candidacy, and this was perhaps the only way to ensure that it wouldn't be a complete debacle for the Bush Administration. Let's hope that they'll do better the next time around.
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Not surprisingly, Antimedia isn't pleased by recent developments, as noted here, and here. On the other hand, he links to a Kevin Drum post containing these lines:
There's nothing that movement conservatives like more than redemption, and if Bush chooses a God-fearing, fire-breathing conservative to replace Miers, then not only will all be forgiven, but Bush's support from the base might well be redoubled.
Of course it all depends on GWB being smart enough to get it right on the second try, but that doesn't exactly sound to me like cause for panic.
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And, yes,
Patterico's come in off the ledge:
It’s time to look forward, not back. I sincerely hope that the
President nominates a solid judicial conservative such as Michael
Luttig or Michael McConnell. Such a choice will do much to heal the
deep rift in the party. Conservatives can unify and rally around a
nominee of true excellence. P.S. We’d rally around Edith Jones, too.
Or Janice Rogers Brown.
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