Not a Victory Yet

I am delighted (though somewhat surprised) that Harriet Miers has withdrawn her name from consideration for the Supreme Court. The President made a horrible mistake in choosing her, and in so doing created a deep rift within his own party. (And the responsibility for the rift rests solely on his shoulders.) But this is not a victory yet.

Until the President fulfills his most important campaign promise and nominates a constitutional conservative--a proven constitutional conservative--for the position, nothing has been gained. If he tries to sneak another moderate buddy like Gonzales in, those of us who are conservative should respond in exactly the same manner. In an ideal world, the Supreme Court would not hold the level of importance it has improperly assumed over the past few decades. But it does; and therefore replacing O'Connor with a judge "in the mold of Scalia and Thomas" is imperative.

As for the Democrats, their talking points this morning have proven yet again that many of them will never support any judge nominated by this President. They are gleefully slamming the Republican right wing--and I'm glad to take that coming from them. Yes, her nomination was defeated by conservatives--which should send a message to the President. I hope and pray that he will listen.