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Bush was going to give Daschle a shot to be fair with Pickering. Now, the recess appointments will be coming. The nomination of Pickering was not a big deal to Bush, per se, but it did two things:

1. It did Lott a favor, which isn't a bad thing.
2. It also served as a test case to see how fair the Dems would be. Pickering had a good track record, and was somewhat marginal in terms of deserving a shot for the 5th Circuit on merit alone. But, with no serious flaws, he should have been confirmed. Instead, he got Borked. There's going to be payback for this, and this could cause serious problems for the Dems. The trial lawyers will dish out some payback, and that's going to be a problem for John Edwards. Bush also has a good pretext to make a few recess appointments, particularly in the Sixth Circuit, which is only at half-capacity.

I like your analysis. Bush did give Dasshole a fair shot to at least go through the "process", which is what liberals claim they love. They did not even do that, displaying a total lack of class. It would be one thing if they had hearings and said they had concerns about him being too conservative, because at least that would led to an honest debate. Apparently honesty is too much to ask for from the democrats.

Bush was going to give Daschle a shot to be fair with Pickering.

Well, I hope Bush didn't really expect Dasshole to be fair. "Fair" is a word not found in a 'rat dictionary. The 'Pubs need to relearn this fundamental lesson: never, ever trust a 'Rat.

The 'pubs assumed that being a good judge and a decent man is sufficient for confirmation. The 'Rats proved that it isn't. With a 'Rat, its all about ideology, and the only thing that will defeat that is somehow having more votes than they do. If the 'Pubs are serious about getting these nominations through, they'd better do whatever it takes, within the rules, to make that happen.

These are just the initial skirmishes, the warmups, the overtures to the real battle, and that will be when an opening occurs on the Supreme Court. The 'Rats are just sharpening their knives for that. A blind man could see that with a cane, but evidently the 'Pubs don't. They're still expecting the 'Rats to play fair and be honorable. But it isn't in them.

But, with no serious flaws, he should have been confirmed. Instead, he got Borked.

Yup. Pickering is a mosquito in the grand scheme of the federal judiciary, and yet Democrats pulled out a nuclear weapon on him just to be pissy, penny-ante jerks. This is a massive, massive tactical error on the Dems' part, because it has absolutely enraged the GOP in both the Congress and the White House, and virtually guarantees that the GOP will now play the hardest of hardball on every truly important nomination without batting an eyelid. The Dems will be paying for this for years.