I gotta tell you, FRiend, this sort of self-defeating attitude is what got us the Harriet Miers debacle to begin with. I honestly believe, now more that ever, that the President should nominate Luttig, McConnell, or whoever (Luttig is my favorite, for what that's worth) and just calmly lay out the case directly to the American people for his nominee's qualifications, for the nominee's judicial philosophy, and for the President's authority to nominate. We can win this fight, I have no doubt, so long as the nominee is supremely well-qualified. Michael Luttig is so.
You're correct on one point: Michael Luttig is a brilliant legal mind who would elevate the Supreme Court regardless of who he succeeds. But, given the politicalization of confirmation hearings and O'Conner's place on the Court's ideological spectrum, political reality is something we have to face, unfortunate as that is.
Finding a nominee who's both a Constitutionalist conservative and confirmable is not mutually exclusive. Two judges who would fill that bill are Federal Judges Diane Sykes and Alice Batchelder. They could be acceptable to the conservative base without inciting the left and their lamestream media allies.
By the way, I expect that there will be at least one more vacancy on the Court during Bush's Presidency. Given the ages of the Justices, it's a very real possibility. The devout Freepers should pray for more voluntary vacancies.