Sloppy Seconds On Samhain

Let the games begin! President Bush has selected Samuel Alito as his latest Supreme Court nominee, replacing Harriet Miers, and I'm really confused. I'm not confused about Alito himself - he's precisely the type of selection that most would have expected in the first place. But all of the reasons Bush gave for his selection of Miers seemed to fly out the window when he picked "Scalito". Coming on the heels of the Miers nomination, you have to wonder what forces were at play. It seems quite appropriate that Alito was born on April Fools Day and nominated on Hallowe'en.

I'm not a lawyer, and I get a chuckle out of similarly lay pundits and bloggers who put forward definitive opinions about legal issues. I would have to read up more on Alito to get a better sense of what kind of judge he has been. Although the initial reports indicate that he has written some opinions that I might have problems with (see "Controversial views" here), for the moment I will reserve judgment on the quality of this nominee. But what troubles me most is the fact that this seems to be all about political, rather than legal, considerations. It's hard to fathom Bush picking Miers ahead of Alito. There are only two explanations that I see, neither of which is flattering to the president. And since it's Hallowe'en, the options are Trick or Treat:

Trick: The Miers nomination was some kind of ploy that was intended to fail, to be followed up with a Battle Royal over a hardline conservative jurist with the full backing of the president's Right Wing base - and perhaps even timed around the expected indictments in the CIA leak investigation. This is a Rovian conspiracy theory being floated around the liberal blogosphere - and even in the Right Wing blogosphere, where it is seen as a brilliant tactic. If true, it was only partially successful in that the Democrats didn't take the bait over Miers. Their opposition was relatively muted, so they can still oppose the Alito nomination without fear of the "obstructionist" label. In any event, it's pretty sleazy for the president to be playing these kinds of political games and hiding behind the human shield of his old friend.

Treat: Bush really did think (foolishly) that Miers was the best person for the job, but bowed to the pressure of his Right Wing base and replaced her with a "Strict Constructionist". (Read my post from last Friday to see what I think about that label.) This is a meaty one. If true, it shows that Bush isn't the rock solid leader that he is reputed to be by his apologists. After all, if he truly thought that Miers was the right choice, he would have put up more of a fight for her. It shows that he is swayed by polls just like any other politician would be in his shoes, and he has lost control of the bully pulpit. When the Far Right put up a fight, he turned into Jell-O. If you don't believe these things about Bush, then your only alternative is Trick.

It should be an interesting confirmation process, and maybe a bloody one at that. It's only a matter of time before we start hearing the phrase "up or down vote" once again. It's funny that we never heard any clamoring for that when Miers was in line for the job. Sloppy seconds, anyone?