Almost immediately after Sandra Day O’Connor announced her retirement, word came down — sometimes subtly, other times less so — that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was at the top of the president’s short list. In fact, the key conservative insider guiding the selection process made Bush’s intentions clear early on.
“It’s a fairly sophisticated choice to be facing,” said C. Boyden Gray, White House counsel under President George H.W. Bush and now a strategist on court nominees for the current administration. Bush “really does want to appoint Gonzales.”
From there, it was an awkward dance. The GOP base made it clear Gonzales wasn’t acceptable to them, the White House made it clear they should stop popping off in public, and Gonzales made the rounds, trying to rally support with the far right, to no avail.
There’s no official word yet about who will get the nod, but Bush has made it clear to his base that the far-right complainers have successfully vetoed Gonzales.
White House officials have assured select conservative leaders that they will not nominate Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to the Supreme Court to replace retiring Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, according to a conservative familiar with the behind-the-scenes discussions.
The message has filtered out to conservative activists that Gonzales, whom many activists believe would be too liberal on abortion and racial preference issues, is no longer a threat to their cause. That could portend a fierce battle in the Senate in September, as Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) has said Gonzales would be a qualified nominee, suggesting that his selection could have achieved bipartisan consensus. […]
Other conservatives corroborated the account that Gonzales’s nomination is now “off the table” in the wake of vigorous conservative protests in response to rumors that Bush was leaning toward appointing his longtime friend.
At least this helps make it clear to everyone who’s really running the show. Bush “really does want to appoint Gonzales,” James Dobson and his cohorts really didn’t. Guess who won?
For what it’s worth, The Hill’s sources are saying that Bush will likely nominate either Edith Jones or Edith Clement, members of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. If you’re interested in reading up on them, here’s some background on Clement and here’s some background on Jones.
