President Bush is refusing to release anymore documents related to Harriet Miers before her confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Huh?! What is he trying to do, save her reputation? I think it’s a bit late for that.
Let’s review, shall we? The woman has no experience as a judge. OK, fine, there have been a few Supreme Court justices who were never judges. But then there were a slew of embarrassing Harriet Miers moments that have just gotten worse. First there were the notes she sent to the Bush family, stuff like, “You are the best Governor, ever!†As if that wasn’t bad enough, there was Arlen Specter, one of the most conservative people in Congress, who said she needed a refresher course on the Constitution. Next we have her questionnaire that was filled out with inappropriate and downright stupid answers. She’s been allowed a do-over. (Does this remind anyone of the sixth grade?) Next we have the fact that she can’t write well, which would make it difficult for her to write opinions that make sense, which is pretty bad. And we also have the fact that no one knows where she stands on anything, or if she even has personal opinions on any issue. All Bush can say about her is that she’s religious, although why he thinks that’s a pre-requisite for a Supreme Court judge, I’ll never understand. And now he thinks he’d better keep her under wraps? What else is there that could make her look worse than she already does? What about these papers that he refuses to release could compromise his ability to receive sound advice from his people? Maybe if he had tried pulling that trick from the very beginning it would have worked, but seeing as how some papers have already been released, this new excuse just rings hollow.
Honestly now, if even Bush’s base is screaming for him to withdraw her nomination, what is he really trying to do? Miers has a snowball’s chance in heck of being confirmed. Bush’s only chance at this point is to be as transparent as possible, and quit hoping that people will just take his word for it (nudge nudge, wink wink).
He’s got no respect for the media, for the people of this country, for anybody who doesn’t agree with his opinion, and now apparently for his own base.
Ryan McConnell @ October 25, 2005 - 3:57pm
At the risk of being That Annoying Guy Who Nitpicks Your Post, but Specter's actually one of the more liberal Republican senators. He's so outspoken in his support of abortion rights that conservatives nearly removed him from his post on the Judiciary Committee.
Also, while the President's bungling of the Miers nomination likewise led me to believe that she has a "snowball’s chance in heck of being confirmed," Slate predicts differently, putting her chances of getting in at 75%. How this can possibly be true is beyond me, but I think the odds are in her favor at this point.
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