Brown or Owen would have been confirmed. Both are younger. There would have been a fight, and a filibuster, but Bush would have won after the nuke option. The vote would be close, but who cares? We'd get a younger nominee whose opinions are known. The base would be rallied. Conservatives would be excited.
The Miers nomination is a shot in the dark. She's a decade older than a nominee should be. She has little in the way of a paper trail. She may turn out okay, but who knows? Chuck Schumer has a smirk on his face this morning, as if he bullied the White House and they backed down to avoid fighting him.
I was won over by Roberts, but this nomination looks to be a wasted opportunity to rally the base with a younger established conservative.
My problem with this pick! Why choose Miers, a total judicial blank, when qualified known quantities like JRB and Priscilla Owen are available and would in all likelihood serve longer? Not being privy to the President's inner circle, it's frustrating, but I just don't get it!