That's the weak excuse. A president needs to be able to do more than one thing at a time. It's not like he's shouldering each and every decision of each and every step in the war with no let up, no respite to do anything else. He made time to yuk it up with Vincente Fox. He made time to throw out a pitch at the World Series, he could have made time easily to stand up for this guy.
He made a miscalculation, plain and simple. He thought he could get this guy through. Now, I trust, he knows better and will appoint an even MORE conservative judge and kick some serious butt if they start this nonsense again.