Harriet Miers For President

Harriet Miers withdrew today for consideration for the Supreme Court. Her nomination was sunk for two reasons. One because she might not have been conservative enough for Republicans (though nobody really knows) and two because she was unqualified. The reality is if she was qualified she would have been able to overcome the first objection on her conservative bonafides.

I guess I'm just surprised that being unqualified is that big of a deal. This is a president who took us to war on false pretenses, continues to link Iraq with the war on terror, turned an enormous surplus into an enormous deficit and still wants to cut taxes for the rich, puts a horse trader in charge of the Federal Emergency Management Association, gives no-bid contracts worth billions to political allies, allows Enron to hijack the state of California's energy supply. All right under the nose of a lockstep congress. So I'm surprised that these people, Republican senators who seriously still think we're making progress in Iraq, are suddenly concerned about a Supreme Court Justice's qualifications. It sure didn't seem like an issue when they were supporting George Bush for president, possibly the least qualified candidate in our nation's history*. And look what our unqualified president has done: bankrupt the country and embroiled us in a war we can't seem to get out of, a war that has neutralized the opposition simply because it's so fucked up that there aren't any real alternatives.

So yeah, I was surprised. I thought the nomination would be smooth sailing.

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*OK, Abraham Lincoln was probably less qualified and on balance that turned out pretty well. But Lincoln didn't bankrupt companies on his way to the top, avoid military service, and spent many years drinking and doing blow. Also, it seems everyone who knew him considered him a top notch intellect.

- Stephen Elliott