October 03, 2005

Harriet Miers

So my question is, was John Roberts consulted about the appointment of Harriet Miers? And what does he think about a potential new colleague whose sole qualification appears to be her loyalty to this President?

I don't know enough about her to state a firm opinion one way or the other. It does strike me as odd that Bush would appoint first Roberts (two years as a judge) and now Miers (no judicial experience whatsoever). I wonder if that's an indicator of how little he really cares about the Judicial branch, or if he just has no stomach for a fight right now. If the latter, he may be wrong; the right wing appears to be less than enthused about Ms. Miers. Says David Frum at NRO:

The Miers nomination, though, is an unforced error. Unlike the Roberts's nomination, which confirmed the previous balance on the Court, the O'Connor resignation offered an opportunity to change the balance. This is the moment for which the conservative legal movement has been waiting for two decades...

He thinks Bush punted. We'll see.

Update: Digby has a very cynical view of this appointment. I'm not yet persuaded, but he could be right.

Posted by Linkmeister at October 3, 2005 09:21 AM | TrackBack
Comments

I wonder if that's an indicator of how little he really cares about the Judicial branch, or if he just has no stomach for a fight right now.

It may be the former, but given what he's going through right now with gas prices breaking the ceiling, Iraq in turmoil, and the Gulf Coast a veritable toilet...I really think it's the latter.

I really hope that Miers is another O'Connor or Souter, and that Roberts turns out over time to be more like a Blackmun or Kennedy. Unlikely, but I can hope.

Posted by: Keith at October 4, 2005 02:35 PM

Some scuttlebutt has it that Bush and Reid made a deal, exchanging a green light for the nominee for Reid's pledge not to obstruct forthcoming Congressional legislation.

Apparently, both felt they were weak.

Posted by: pixelshim at October 4, 2005 02:50 PM

Until somebody ghost-writes Bush's memoirs, I expect we'll never really know.

Posted by: Linkmeister at October 4, 2005 03:03 PM