President Bush has chosen Harriet Miers to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court. Miers, who has never been a judge, was the first woman to serve as president of the Texas State Bar and the Dallas Bar Association. Miers, a long time associate of President Bush, was named a White House Council in November of 2004.
I'm really of two minds on this nomination, in one sense, it's a brilliant political move in that Ms. Miers doesn't have a judicial record for the democrats to use in their Borking attempt that was sure to be applied to any candidate that the president was going to name. On the other side of the coin, Ms. Miers has no judicial record for us to know just what her judicial philosophy is....
It's all a matter of whether you trust the President's judgement in selecting a candidate that will follow the Constitution or not. Four years I ago, I would have had no doubts about that, but with his actions in other areas of importance to the nation in that period, I find myself really nervous whether or not Ms Miers is a good choice or not.
The truth is, however, NO one can be really sure how any candidate will perform once they plant their backsides in that tall seat on the bench. David Souter would be a good example of this fact. We can only trust that, as the President knows this woman from close association with her over a long period of time, that she is, and will be true, to constitutional judicial principals.
I would rather have had a candidate that didn't require that level of trust in the President, it's asking a lot of that trust to confirm a blank slate to one of the most powerful positions in government.
At the very least though, the upcoming confirmation hearings should prove to be lively. As the President joked of Ms. Miers, "When it comes to a cross-examination, she can filet better than Mrs. Paul." It will be fascinating to see how she responds to Shumer and Kennedy when they put her in the hot seat.
I'm with you on this one. I have a sneaking suspicion that it is because President Bush has a liking for Miers' religious views.
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