[mhking]

Estrada pulled his nomination -- what do you want President Bush to do -- lock him in a closet and demand he stay in the nominating process. Give the man a break!

NO.

I will not give him a pass on this.

By allowing (that's right "allowing") the Dems in the Senate to dictate terms, all they had to do was drag their feet long enough for something to break. And that something was Estrada's will.

Had Frist stayed on target, the Dems couldn't have dragged their feet.

They had two options - the nuclear option of destroying the filibuster power, and to actually force the filibuster - Frist didn't have the stones to do either one.

I'm sure that both would have worked.

And let's not even talk about Bush's failure to shove it through during the August recess. No. The Dems played this hand masterfully and won the chips on the table. I hate saying that, and I would much rather see those chips on our side of the table.

I recognize that each and every nominee won't get through, but at this rate, NONE of Bush's significant nominees will be passed, thanks to this kind of sorry slip-shod work.

Frist didn't do the job. Now put a Senator in place who will. It's that simple.

And yes, I'll be writing both the White House and Frist's office to that effect.

[hchutch]

You want perfection?

Better wait a long time - the good folks probably have used up their BS tolerance. Get ready for disappointment.

[WOSG]

They had two options - the nuclear option of destroying the filibuster power, and to actually force the filibuster - Frist didn't have the stones to do either one. I'm sure that both would have worked.

Uh, dont you need a 2/3rds vote to change Senate rules, how could he change the filibuster power here?

I certainly agree he should have forced the filibuster. They began to do it in the spring for about 2 nights, and I was quite proud of Hatch, but it kind of fizzled out, rather than keeping the heat on ... shameful really.