WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 - Harriet E. Miers withdrew her nomination for the Supreme Court this morning after her selection by President Bush led to criticism from conservatives and liberals and opposition to her appointment began to grow more intense.
In recent days, several prominent members of the Republican Party had begun to publicly question Ms. Miers's nomination, suggesting that she was not conservative enough on issues like abortion. Others, including both Republicans and Democrats, have questioned Ms. Miers's lack of judicial experience since her nomination was announced by President Bush on Oct. 3. Democratic senators had also sought White House documents from Ms. Miers, who is the White House counsel, that might have given clues to her judicial philosophy.
With opposition from both Republicans and Democrats, it had become increasingly likely that Ms. Miers would fail to garner enough votes to be confirmed by the Senate.
Ms. Miers's withdrawal comes at a time when senior members of the Bush administration face possible indictment growing out of the disclosure of the identity of a C.I.A. officer two years ago. Public opinion polls also show that the president's popularity has fallen dramatically as the war in Iraq continues to claim Iraqi and American lives with no end in sight.
In one sense, I'm not surprised that Miers pulled out. Her selection to the court by President Bush smacked of cronyism. Here was a corporate lawyer who had no judicial qualifications, nor was she a constitutional scholar. There were no records that the Senate Judiciary Committee could use to measure her judicial philosophy and views--and whatever records there were, were from her work as Bush's White House legal counsel and the president refused to release them, citing executive privilege. She flubbed on the Senate questionnaire. The right-wingnuts didn't think she was conservative enough--this was just another snowball effect to pretty much quash this lady out of the court. Here's President Bush's response to the Mier's withdrawal:
In a statement today, President Bush said he had "reluctantly" accepted her decision to withdraw.
"It is clear that senators would not be satisfied until they gained access to internal documents concerning advice provided during her tenure as the White House - disclosures that would undermine a president's ability to receive candid counsel," Mr. Bush said in the statement.
The president added: "Harriet Miers' decision demonstrates her deep respect for this essential aspect of the constitutional separation of powers - and confirms my deep respect and admiration for her."
Mr. Bush said that he intends to fill the Supreme Court vacancy "in a timely manner."
Mr. President, there was no way you could have gotten a complete stealth candidate like Miers--a complete unknown--onto the court. Simply saying "She's a good person--she's qualified," is not enough. You were going to have to back up your claims with documentation, otherwise Miers is going down in flames. Now, you're going to have to make a new pick. And such a pick--even if you make one quickly enough, will probably have to face confirmation hearings in 2006--right at the midterm elections. The Supreme Court now becomes an election issue. If Bush tries to placate his right-wingnuts by submitting a hard-lined ideologue, you can bet the Democrats will use the filibuster on such a nominee, forcing the nuclear showdown--thus sending up another election issue.
The game continues on.
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