Something's wrong somewhere when a Republican president wouldn't relish a bloody, high-profile political fight against the likes of Chuck Schumer, Ted Kennedy, Dick Durbin, and Joe Biden. Heaven couldn't hand deliver such unpopular and unattractive foes. An ideological showdown with President Bush and Priscilla Owen (as an example) on one side, holding firm to constitutional principles, and Dunce Cap Row (the Senate judiciary committee Democrats) on the other, would result in floods of phone calls & e-mails to senate offices, running 4 to 1 in favor of confirming Owen. The base would rally. We here at FreeRepublic would be united instead of torn asunder. 'Rat senators from Red States such as Landrieu, Bill Nelson, and Conrad would be begging the Democrat leadership to back down. I'll never understand why the President didn't hit Schumer right in the teeth with an ideological baseball bat on this one.
Because he'd rather play ball with him.