"I think people are making too much of this. Plenty of Supreme Court nominees have had to withdraw or been defeated because of lack of support within the President's party."
Such as?
"Such as?"
Carswell, Haynsworth were rejected without much fight and amid much complaining about their qualifications. Ginsburg (sp?) was forced to pull his name for allegedly having smoked marijuana but again without much help. I don't have a complete list of all those who never came to a hearing but were forced to withdraw because the party would not give them support, but I would be suprised if it is all that rare. Even Bork did not get all the Republicans.
"Such as?"
Here's an example:
http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/2005/04/bush_nominees_f.html
"But Griffin is a symbolic figure in the broader fight on the filibuster, because in 1968 his father, Republican Senator Robert Griffin of Michigan, used the filibuster to scuttle Lyndon Johnson's nomination of Justice Abe Fortas to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court."