5-4: The Genius of George W. Bush

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/04/19/143114.php ^ | 4/19/07 | Rick Vassar

[Rick Vassar]

‘The 5-4 decision written by Justice Anthony Kennedy said the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act that Congress passed and Bush signed into law in 2003 does not violate a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion…’ -Associated Press April 19, 2007

“It's ready for a retarded president, why wouldn't it be ready for an African American president?’ -Chris Rock, Life Magazine 2007

President Bush’s management strategy is a thing of beauty.

Walk around, act sort of absent-minded, mix up your words here and there, and people begin to lower their expectations – and their defenses. In an unguarded moment, something slips out, and allows you the opportunity to make decisions with much more information on what the other side is thinking.

Some people say he’s not too smart. Some say much worse. Many of those who say such things have strong egos and truly believe that they can clearly express their thoughts, but the president is too vacant to understand them.

That’s a big mistake.

There are many markers on President Bush’ tenure that will define his presidency. The 2000 election, 9/11, and Iraq are just a few. However, the day that should be remembered as the defining moment of Mr. Bush’ presidency is October 3, 2005, when he nominated Harriet Miers for the United States Supreme Court.

First, some history:

July 19, 2005 - Mr. Bush nominates John Roberts to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor September 3, 2005 – Chief Justice William Rehnquist dies. Mr. Bush moves Roberts’ nomination over to replace Rehnquist as Chief Justice September 29, 2005 – Roberts confirmed as Chief Justice and sworn in October 3, 2005 – Mr. Bush nominates Harriet Miers for the Justice O’Connor vacancy October 28, 2005 – Miers, under a firestorm of criticism, withdraws her nomination October 31, 2005 – Mr. Bush nominates Samuel Alito January 31, 2006 – Alito is confirmed

Everyone assumed after Mr. Bush was re-elected in 2004 that he would have at least one Supreme Court nomination in his second term, and perhaps as many as three or four, depending on the health of the members of the Court.

The first good move was the nomination of John Roberts to replace the retiring Justice O’Connor. Roberts was a judge for the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia since 2003. He had been nominated in 2001, but the nomination was held up by Democrats in the Senate Judiciary Committee and never came to a vote. In 2003, he was confirmed by voice vote.

The significance of this is clear – had the Democrats not held up Roberts’ confirmation, they would have had two years of judicial review that may have lent credence to his conservative leanings. Since he had been approved for the appeals court, the Senate really had only the two previous years in which to attack his record.

Now, with the Court split 4-4 on ideological grounds, the left knew that the real fight would have to be with this next vacancy. If the Bush administration got the conservative voice it desired for the Court, it could radically alter the social agenda for years to come. The stakes were high, and the left came loaded for bear.

So, on October 3, 2005, President Bush gave them Harriet Miers.

I can just imagine the conversation at the White House: Harriet, we need to send you out there as the nominee. You’re going to get skewered for a month or so, and then you’ll withdraw, and we’ll send in Sam Alito before the opposition can reload. Then you just come back over here to the White House.

Besides, think how good it will look on your resume…

And that’s exactly what happened. Both sides of the aisle voiced vehement opposition to the nomination, and many indicated that Mr. Bush had finally lost it. When Justice Alito was nominated, the left was depleted and done. They had attacked Mrs. Miers primarily on qualification and not ideology. When Justice Alito was nominated, he was clearly qualified, and the opposition could not overcome its own arguments. Mr. Bush now had the conservative Court he so desired.

Genius, I tell you. Mr. Bush set a political trap, and the opposition fell for it hook, line and sinker.

And they know it, too.

Yesterday, the Court upheld the ban on partial birth abortion. The left is outraged. It has always felt that the right to choose was a constitutional right, and any restriction erodes that right. Let’s face it, any right that involves the sacrifice of another life is no right at all, and should not be protected.

The left also says that this does not take into consideration the life of the mother in critical circumstances. It appears that this court disagrees. If you are concerned the blanket "right to choose" is going away, your concerns are valid.

This Court seems to be leaning towards a full ban on abortion, which will then allow the debate to center around exceptions, especially in the area of the protection of the life of the mother. The left, since 1973, believe that this is an all or nothing fight. In their minds, the right to an abortion is and should remain constitutionally guaranteed.

Remember, the conversation does not have to be all or nothing.

It just has to be 5-4.

[rogue yam]

I’m not convinced Miers was a fake-out, but it would be nice if it turns out she was.

I prefer to think of Pres. Bush as a sincere, straightforward man who sometimes makes mistakes and has the humility to correct them when he realizes that's what he's done.

[kidd]

Yes, Bush was sooo brilliant when he signed CFR, the Farm bill and Ted Kennedy's education bill into law. And the peak of brilliance: prescription drug aid.

< roll eyes=up>

Methinks the author gives Bush too much credit. He's not anywhere as dumb as the left thinks, but he is not in total command either.

[Vision]

I agree that he thinks in three dimensions...but I also know(from the good ie the war, to the bad- illegal immigration) that he is as stubborn as a freakin’ mule.

IMO, he didn’t have a plan except getting Miers on there. I’m just glad he finally listened to the base; if only he had done that on immigration. Oh well.

[EQAndyBuzz]

“Don’t forget, if he had his way Harriet Miers would have been on the court.”

I still contend that this nomination was designed to wake the Conservatives up. It also opened up the door for Conservatives to sit out the 2006 election cycle.

In hindsight, if Bush puts up Alito instead of Miers, we might still have majorities in both houses.

[RFEngineer]

“This is a very Catholic thing that just happened, even if everyone is afraid to say so out loud.”

Loud or soft, it’s nonsense. It was just the obvious right thing to do. Supreme court justices don’t take orders from the Pope when it comes to the US Constitution.

[Badeye]

“He just got complacent. Also, unlike John Kerry and Al Gore, it was never his lifelong goal to become President. He’s never had any sort of “grand vision” for transforming the country. He ran as a “compassionate” conservative, not a traditional conservative. And that’s pretty much how he’s run his Presidency. Miers was a Rovian plot, not bush.”

Complacent, or lost all focus perspective?

I think Meirs was simply a serious error in political judgement.