Jack--I guess we should be happy with his choice...I hear Rove had to talk him out of nominating Judge Reinhold.

It's my opinion this nominee is a "sacrificial lamb" to let those who will oppose any Bush nominee unleash their ire. She's taking one for the team. After both sides have gotten the political mileage they are looking for she will ask Bush to withdraw her nomination and he will nominate the person he really wants on the court. He will then be able to push through the new nominee because the Demos won't want to look like obstructionists.

^unless she fails to get the seat because of the Repubs. Wouldn't look to good if the conservatives shot down their own GOP president's pick.

I like how PLM thinks. I try not to be conspiratorial, but love it when others do it for me. Call it a guilty pleasure...

Blackmail also makes sense. Perhaps she's the one with the dirt on George. And / or Karl.

Hopefully she also has pictures.

http://muscleheadrevolution.com

Some interesting listening there with her former pastor at her home church in Dallas. "She's married her faith and vocation." Oh good.

This was a very disappointing pick. I'll give Bush a pass that he knows her very well and is comfortable she's not a Souter (a judicial liberal who people think is a judicial conservative). He probably thinks that a painful confirmation process or a filibuster by the left is not good for the country and that this pick will avaid that.

The Wall Street Journal quoted yesterday from Hamilton in the Federalist Papers about appointments like this--close friends of the President picked because of their closeness, not their qualifications. This is exactly the reason we have advice and consent, and the Senate should do its job and say "no". Her personal loyalty is a good thing when she's working for him in the White House, but not when she's going to serve as a Supreme Court justice.

The President needs to nominate someone who has earned the right to this job (AND who's a judicial conservative). Yea, Ted Kennedy will shout and PFAW will make noise. Let them. And if they filibuster a strong, qualified pick, they'll be the ones who look bad. Right now, unfortunately, its' the President who looks bad.

Read George (Triumph of the) Will column in todays Oregonian. I can't remember his exact words and I don't have the column in front of me to quote but he actually admits that our President lacks the intellectual capacity to do his job. Perhaps he finally loosened his bow tie and he improved the circulation of blood to his brain or something. I think it was the first time I was actually able to read through his column without throwing up.