[nathanbedford]

My take on Harriet Miers was markedly different from yours. Harriet Miers' nomination was a jump the shark moment for me with George Bush. This is not a reflection on Harriet Miers but a reflection on George Bush.

I know the conventional wisdom is that George Bush has learned from the mistakes of his father especially his father's death rattle: "read my lips no new taxes." But apart from this lesson George Bush seems to have learned nothing from his father's experience.

The entire Katrina fiasco was little more than an instant replay of the bludgeoning his father received in the wake of hurricane Andrew here in Florida.

Moreover the appointment of Harriet Miers was reflective of a regrettable tendency in the president to engage in cronyism. His appointment of Brown at FEMA led to the debacle of Katrina. His appointment of General Myers' niece is a replay of this vice.

But ultimately the appointment of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court betrays a lack of understanding of the significance of the appointment, the standards required, and the stakes involved for his administration, his party, his nation, and his constitution. It also stands as a betrayal of the people who gave him the very votes he solicited as he explicitly promised them he would appoint a conservative in the vein of Thomas and Scalia. It reveals George Bush to be utterly insensitive to the bitter disappointment caused by previous appointments such as Justice Souter and others as they came out of the closet and betrayed themselves to be rabid liberals as soon as they donned their black robes and assumed power until the very day they die. It signaled that President Bush, despite his campaigning for votes to the contrary, is indifferent to growing threats our judiciary as presently constituted poses to all the precious constitutional prerogatives of his constituents

The problem with Harriet Miers was not Harriet Miers herself. It is that she was an unknown quantity and the president had absolutely no business imposing such a risk on us.

In this jump the shark moment George Bush betrayed himself to be aligned not to a conservative philosophy, not to a conservative movement, not to a Republican Party, but to a tribe, a tribe of cronies who govern by noblisse oblige

[Wormwood]

Harriet Miers' nomination was a jump the shark moment for me with George Bush. This is not a reflection on Harriet Miers but a reflection on George Bush.

I believe the scales fell from my eyes around that time as well.

In all, an excellent post. Thank you.

[Iwo Jima]

I agree with your comments except with respect to Ms. Miers being an unknown quantity. She was not an unknown quantity to me and many others. She was a known quantity and unqualified to be on the Supreme Court. If she had any skill in vetting candidates, she would have taken herself out of the running.

I bear her no ill will, but I am glad she is leaving the White House.

[shrinkermd]

I guess your hero is:

"This article is about the Confederate soldier; for his grandson see Nathan Bedford Forrest III Nathaniel Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821 – October 29, 1877) was a Confederate army general and an instrumental figure in the founding and growth of the Ku Klux Klan.

"Forrest was perhaps the American Civil War's most highly regarded cavalry and partisan ranger (guerrilla leader). Forrest is regarded by many military historians as the war's most innovative and successful general. His tactics of mobile warfare are still studied by modern soldiers.

"After the war, Forrest's reputation suffered because of his KKK involvement and revelations that his troops murdered prisoners after the Battle of Fort Pillow, most of which were African-American.

[KantianBurke]

bravo! well said.

[Basheva]

Absolutely agree.

I worked in both of George Bush's presidential campaigns and have been very disappointed in his lack of conservative commitment.

A president only gets a chance or two (if lucky) to appoint to the Supreme Court - it is a momentous decision. This decision hs the possibility of affecting the country for decades.

At at time when the left/democrat party has upped the stakes by threatening to filibuster a nominee, a candidate must be chosen with outstanding professional qualifications, judicial temperament, judicial record, as well as conservative credentials. Must be someone well known in lega/judicial circles. A relatively unknown person - one not easily defended as the very best choice - starts out the process already in negative territory.

Harriet Miers, with no judicial decisions in her curricula vita, was a difficult nominee for the conservative electorate to assess and therefore support.

[Wolfstar]

Once again, the man whose hero founded the Ku Klux Klan fouls a thread with his bilge.