Citing "a near-treasonous capacity for deference and open-mindedness," President Bush this morning acknowledged the withdrawal of Harriet Miers, his best friend from down the hall and choice for Supreme Court justice. The President was critical of Senate Democrats. "It's a sad day in Washington when a national party cannot be expected to do their duty and sternly oppose us," Bush said. "I tried my best to work against them in the true spirit of demagoguery, but I was continually thwarted by threats of acceptance and a rumored bipartisan vote in her favor. I could not allow Harriet to go through that kind of embarrassing spectacle of approval."
Miers' nomination ran into trouble the day it was announced, when it was leaked that Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid had in fact helped suggest her to the President as a good choice. "We knew they had no scruples," a White House aide said, "but we were caught flat-footed when that came out. We were unprepared for the hailstorm of graciousness from the Minority Leader's office. Senator Reid hasn't been as reliable of a mouth-frothing opponent as we might like, but we have done our best to reach across the aisle and incite divisiveness on the other side. This time we came up a little short."
Citing an array of comments designed to "undermine disfavor for the nominee," White House officials blamed Senate Democrats and allied groups for keeping their powder dry on Miers. "It's impossible to have the kind of battle royale a Supreme Court nominee deserves, when the opposition makes damaging statements like 'let's give her a fair shake' and 'why not wait until the hearings to judge her.' The American people deserved worse, and I think they'll be upset that they didn't get it." Officials cited a lack of embarrassing comments from groups such as MoveOn.org and People for the American Way, as a possible reason for the lack of excitement among Republicans. "When they're not whining, we get suspicious," said one staffer.
The President and his staff will attempt to regroup over the next few days and consider their options for a replacement nominee. Officials privately acknowledge the process may be a difficult one; they had counted on Miers being a lightning rod of liberal criticism. Staffers indicated Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was a possible choice, although a risky one, given the failure of Democrats to fillibuster his current appointment--a signal worrying some that Gonzales might also fail to cause the desired levels of indignant sputtering felt necessary to reassure conservatives. "What if they like him too?" a senior official speculated. "Dobson will go batshit."
--TJ
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