I think Miers was a genius choice. Back when we were discussing Bush's strategy for Supreme Court picks, the idea came out that Bush purposefully delayed announcing his pick in order to smoke out the Democrats.
The Democrats took the bait and announced their preferences.
The President then, through Miers, proffered a nominee that met the superficial demands for a woman without a conservative record. The fact that the President believes that she is a conservative after his own heart is a bonus for conservatives, but will be a major sticking point for the Democrats.
Through the Miers nomination, the President has chosen the battleground. He has taken the high ground early on. His nomination of Roberts has locked the approaches the Democrats have to attack to avenues that are easily ambushed.
Everybody looks at this from the conservative stand point and panics because we have to trust the President's nominee to be what he says she is. It is a rational fear because we don't know her ourselves and there is no judicial record with which to satisfy any doubts.
But if we look at this from the Democrats point of view, they're stuck between a rock and a hard place. If they attack Harriet Miers, the "obstructionist" charges against them will be proven. If they fail to attack her, their special interest groups and liberal base will scream bloody murder to the lower circles of Hell and back.
It is funny how much more trust the Left's extremists place in Bush's ability to appoint a conservative to the bench, than those on the Right.
They don't care one iota about being labeled as obstructionists. Their base hates Bush so much that they want to obstruct implementation of every decision he makes.
I see your point and do agree. If anything, I trust the President's judgement on this pick, because he is one of the few people who have actually gotten to know her personally. I still maintain at this point that Reid will be persuaded by leftist front groups like MoveOn.org, because MoveOn.org is working diligently behind the scense to dredge up enough dirt on Miers to change minds and hearts on the left.
WoW, finally an impeccably thought out argument on this subject! Great job Coconutt! I've been mostly watching the flame wars for two days, observing FReepers eating their young. Much passion in the ranks...
I must admit that I was not happy with Miers, but because I really wanted a battle with the dems. We have seen them get louder and more venomous each day and we're playing the role of Cain in "Kung Fu". And I feel like it's time for Grasshopper to put some hurt on somebody. The court is too important to let emotions overrun our objectives.
Even if your perspective isn't the reason for her nomination, it will be interesting to watch the Dims beat up on a little old lady in the hearings (no offense to the 60 plus crowd). Biden, Chucky, and Teddy would have serious backlash if they overplay their hand. That would give us more of an advantage long term. You definately gave me more to think about.