The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

”You've got to know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
Know when to run”

First the good:

1. Harriet Miers didn’t have enough fight in her; she didn’t deserve confirmation.
2. Harriet Miers didn’t articulate her views clearly enough to dispel doubts about her views; she didn’t deserve confirmation.
3. There were many conservatives who stood on principle in opposing her confirmation; Republicans are not a party of lemmings.

Then the bad:

1. President Bush has had 5 years to determine and refine a list of excellent nominees; it was careless of him to go with a last minute gut feeling about Harriet Miers. He may be a man of his word, but he also needs to be prepared for practically every possibility. He is starting to appear lazy and unprepared.
2. We don’t know how a single Senator felt about the confirmation of Ms. Miers; Senators need to go on record. Government and the people are not served when decisions are made through whispers. There should have been an up or down vote for her confirmation, just like Conservatives have been arguing for the last four years.
3. It has now become exceedingly more difficult to get a good conservative nominee approved; Republicans will pay a political price for the type of nominee most conservatives want and who may not even get confirmed.
4. The next nominee may be more like Souter or Kennedy than Sandra Day O’Connor; a track record of conservative decisions is not as important as a track record of impeccable character.

And the ugly:

1. Not a majority, but many conservative pundits sounded more like Air America than reasonable representatives of a noble cause; this will embolden those who lack civility.
2. Liberals didn’t spend a dime in borking Ms. Miers. Their war chest will be spent on the next nominee. It will get very ugly then.