Partly because of the Democrats' success in filibustering appellate court nominees, Bush had a shorter list of candidates to examine for the Supreme Court. Highly qualified prospects were unavailable, deemed too inflammatory by Senate leaders or, as in Estrada's case, unwilling to re-enter the fray.The President backs down because the Senate deems the contest "too inflammatory." Just a big fat disappointment. Why the hell should I support ANYBODY with this lack of conviction to the Constitution?
Exactly. If he fought it--with conviction, by proposing a candidate who would support our Constitution (leave the issues out of it)--then the American people would see the Left (including the Gang of 7) obstructing the Constitution.