ConfirmThem

I seriously doubt the veracity of Draper's book. It seems like a blatant attempt to whitewash Karl Rove and some of his major mistakes. Rove was opposed to Cheney as Vice-President? I don't believe it. Roberts suggested Miers as a SCOTUS nominee? I double-don't believe it.

At least if you believe this:
http://www.examiner.com/blogs/Yeas_and_Nays/2007/9/4/Book-says-Souter-mu...

Souter almost resigned after Bush vs Gore. Maybe he's hoping for one more change at a Democratic president.

If a Democrat comes in, I suspect Souter is gone quickly. If a Dem, who knows. Now if Souter goes in December ... well then we'd know why Chuckie has been yelling so much about No More Bush Nominees.

Oz

www.first-cut-politics.blospot.com

LMAO.

I'd be surprised if Roberts "suggested" Miers, but I'd be even more surprised if his reaction to her nomination was as mindlessly kneejerk as the likes of Michelle Malkin or the NRO kiddies.

Uhh...I don't know who this guy is, but - fairly or not - his entire book is completely discredited by that assertion.

So, when they were talking about Post Election Stress Trauma (PEST), you would think that Souter would have used his celebrity to bring voice to the disorder so that people wouldn't feel ashamed or alone in dealing with it. You know, like Brooke Shields and PPD. :-)

The Post article includes a photo of Roberts and Miers along with an "unidentified person." Strange that the Post doesn't recognize William K. Kelley who did such great work helping to fill 2 SCOTUS vacancies.

The book is a joke. Roberts would never presume to tell Bush who he should nominate; it's just not within his character. He might have, out of courtesy to Miers for her assistance in his confirmation, commented to Bush that she was a pleasant lady and a fine lawyer. There is 0% chance that he suggested her, recommended her, or endorsed her in any way for SCOTUS. Not a chance.

According to John Dean's book, Warren Burger had some pull on the Nixon White house for filling the 3 subsequent SCOTUS vacancies after his own.

Burger and Blackmun were friends, I believe.

This Jeffrey Toobin article regarding Jack Goldsmith is eye-opening. After Goldsmith's admissions regarding the Bush administration, I doubt he'll have any admirers there, but it seems to me he'd make for an excellent AG. The article displays Ashcroft, Clement, and Mueller in very good light, while reflecting poorly on David Addington and John Yoo.

While reading it, I wanted to be pissed off at Goldsmith, but I just couldn't be. For the most part, his story rings true.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/09/magazine/09rosen.html?ei=5124&en=f9a7a...

Yes, but Burger was a blowhard who had an entirely inflated view of himself. It would be in character for him to presume to tell the president how to act. My sense is Roberts has no such pretension and presumption, and even if he is arrogant (and rightly so), he does not outwardly demonstrate it.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/legalities/

a small portion of McConnell's opening day speech

“The Senate will soon be asked to confirm a new attorney general. Some members of this body will be tempted to turn the confirmation process into another occasion for seeking political advantage. Democrats have rightly noted that the Justice Department's work is too important to languish without leadership at the top.

“And they’ve promised that if the President’s nominee puts the rule of law first, they will avoid confrontation. They’ll prove they mean it by not looking to secure commitments from the nominee as a condition of his or her confirmation, other than that he or she will faithfully enforce the law.

“Attempts to exact political promises and pre-commitments would be inconsistent with the goal of restoring the Justice Department to full strength as quickly as possible.

“Nor should the confirmation of a new Attorney General be used as an excuse to slow down circuit court nominees, starting with Judge Leslie Southwick. The average number of circuit court confirmations during the final two-years of similarly situated presidencies is 17. We’ve fallen off pace to approximate that standard.

“At this point, the Senate’s only confirmed three circuit court nominees. The Senate can begin to make much-needed progress in this area by confirming Judge Southwick. The Judiciary Committee voted to send his nomination to the Senate just before we broke for recess. And he deserves a vote -- soon.

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=22220

2:15 Wednesday Dirksen Off Bldg room 124

I'd love to know how he is planning to get Southwick a floor vote.

Meier's reluctance to accept the nomination. Never have I seen such an unjoyful SCOTUS announcment. Meiers appeared tense; Bush defensive.

Knee jerk? More like well placed reaction.

Have you forgotten that in a recent book that we have all fawned over (the author was interviewed here at ConfirmThem) it was shown that Miers was woefully inept in her preparation for the committee hearings? She had ZERO background in the field of "constitutional" law. Her handlers were getting depressed and terrified at the rate by which she was (wasn't)progressing. (You can't teach a lifetime of a field of law in a few weeks to someone with zero background). Her answers to her questionere were so pathetic that even republicans had to return the form to her. Really, knee jerk?

This issue, and this argument, ended a long time ago. Please don't bring it up anymore. We should all celebrate together that we have Roberts and Alito, and leave the rehashing of Miers to others.

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" - Defoe

JCG nails it: JGR would never presume to suggest, sign off or criticize any potential Supreme Court nominee. HOWEVER, were he to do so, esp. if diversity was paramount, it almost certainly would have been Mahoney.

IIRC, JCG sez that when Burger told Dutch he was retiring, he gave him a list of six recommendations which included WHR, Bork, Scalia & White.

Burger & Blackmun were childhood friends, but as they grew older they ran hot & cold, to put it mildly. See The Brethren, also there's an in-depth article on them, somewhere in Googleland.

Burger did recommend Blackmun to Nixon, but by then Haynsworth & Carswell had gone down in flames and they were panicking. A young lawyer from Phoenix named Bill who was working in the Justice department at the time recommended New York State judge Thomas Breitel....[sigh]...

You're referring to Charles Breitel, who was an associate judge and chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals (its highest court) in the 1960s and 1970s. Breitel was brilliant and conservative, and would have been lightyears better than Blackmun. He and Rehnquist would have made a great one-two conservative punch throughout the 1970s and early 1980s.