We Dodged A Bullet
When the Miers nomination for SCOTUS was announced, I winced. I had flashbacks to the Seuter and Kennedy nominations. Still, I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. Bush had not let us down before. He had nominated great candidates to the federal judiciary, the UN, the federal reserve, etc.
After running across this speech of hers though, I'm glad that she withdrew her nomination. Hugh Hewitt says the speech isn't significant but I disagree. Bush tells us that she is a conservative but everything about her past says she is a conservative in the Seuter mold. She has given to Democrats, advocated racial set-asides, advocated judicial activism (see speech), etc. She may be conservative right now, but if she wasn't just 12 years ago, who is to say she won't flop again. Without a readily established judicial philosophy her chances of succumbing to pressures on the court increase.
I think we dodged a bullet here. She would have been a disaster. That's not to say we've averted disaster though. The next nominee will have to be a conservative and that could spell deadlock. We could be in trouble here. Still, I'd rather have the possibility of a bad situation to a guaranteed one.
-Godshatter