Harriet, we hardly knew ye

October 27, 2005

The debacle that was the Harriet Miers Supreme Court nomination has come to a merciful end. Miers withdrew her nomination this morning and the president accepted it.

In her letter to the president, Miers said she was “concerned that the confirmation process presents a burden for the White House and its staff and it is not in the best interest of the country.”

“It is clear that senators would not be satisfied until they gained access to internal documents concerning advice provided during her tenure at the White House — disclosures that would undermine a president’s ability to receive candid counsel,” Bush said.

“Harriet Miers’ decision demonstrates her deep respect for this essential aspect of the constitutional separation of powers — and confirms my deep respect and admiration for her.”

It looks like they ended up going with the Krauthammer Scenario after all — Miers had to bow out, not because she’s an unqualified crony with a questionable background, but because of a deeply held belief in protecting White House documents.

Sure. That’s what it was. Whatever you say.

Update: Here are links to Miers’ withdrawal letter and Bush’s statement.

Any chance Mr. Fitzgerald might have some information on Ms. Meyers in a file folder somewhere? Or is this just a coincidence of timing that she withdraws the day before the Grand Jury expires on the grounds that she does not want to have to discuss activities at the White House?

P.S. Thank god.

  • Which leaves the question, which Bush (or more accurately, which team of Bush handlers) will be reflected in The Sequel?

    Will it be Bush/Card, seething at the betrayal from the right and refusing to reward this disloyalty, sending up a traditional pro-business (but non-knuckle-dragging) conservative – an easy bi-partisan sell to “show” the right they should have taken Miers instead? (Presumably this would be a woman, also keeping Laura and Sandra Day happy).

    Or will it be Bush/Rove, knowing that when the rest of the world turns on you, a fired up base is needed to stay on the ship even as all the rest of the rats jump, sending up a fire-breathing fanactic from the Dobson-Falwell wing, to show the pinko Dems he’s still in charge and will go down fighting?

    Or will it be Bush alone, all of his staffers consumed by the Plame turmoil, sending up another crony because it is who he feels personally compfortable with and he doesn’t know any better?

  • Do you honestly think that Aunt Bea was in the loop on anything relevant? Give me a break. She was too busy writing super duper cards to the greatest president ever. Good riddance Harriet.

  • She may not have been in the loop but you cannot have a sitting Justice or nominee sitting in a court room and testifying about when POTUS and Turd Blossom met and what was on the agenda. She was the secretary. Even a blind squirrel can smell a bear crapping in the woods and tell everyone how it smells.

    I know it is probably irrational exuberance but the news has just been so encouraging that I can’t help myself.

    We do know the next nominee won’t be named Karl, Scooter, or Patrick.

  • What is really sad is that this likely had nothing to do with the Bush team actually realizing Miers was underqualified, or was a PR disaster, or might not be confirmable. More likely, they decided they had to throw her overboard today for the wholly Machiavellian reason that they can now try and cut short the legs of the Plame indictments story by naming a Supreme Court nominee early on in the coverage. Couldn’t do that unless an opening exists. Sorry, my old personal friend Harriet, but political expediency outranks friendship, loyalty or any other positive human traits in this White House.

  • Since Harriet is no longer busy preparing for hearings, will she be running the search committee for the next nominee, just as she did the last time?

  • Well, this is a transparent lie. Off the top of my head, this incredibly secretive WH held back a lot of Bolton’s documents and Roberts’ documents (and of course, Cheney’s energy committee documents), playing “that’s for us to know and for you to find out”.

    The difference is that this time, it was *Republicans* and especially the Republican Fundamentalists who had concerns. Of course, I don’t expect anyone not a political junkie to remember any of this. It will be spun, by the 2006 mid-terms, as “Democrats in the Senate didn’t want an up-or-down vote on any of Bush’s appointees, and in Miers’ case, they succeeded. Damn Dem Obstructionists.”

  • “Since Harriet is no longer busy preparing for hearings, will she be running the search committee for the next nominee, just as she did the last time?”

    heh. that’s pretty evil

    I’m very afraid of who he’ll nominate next. In my most tinfoil-hat-wearing moments I think she was a blind from the get-go to soften us up for a real extremist.

  • Are you suggesting that the real reason was that she was an unqualified crony with a questionable background? For all the bitching I’ve been reading about that on liberal sites, you know that was never of any importance. Thomas was less qualified and had behaved unethically by sexually harassing an employee while head of the office in charge of investigating sexual harassment claims. And he got in. Now if by “questionable background” you mean the appearance of liberal leanings in her past — and the appearance of those leanings was really remarkably strong — then yes, that’s the reason.

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