Souter in a Skirt ?

I’ve been there. Every athlete has. There are no atheists after the 20 mile mark of a marathon and few friends. Even those who genuinely are friends and shout encouragement to you are but curious sideshows to the anguishing drama playing out in your addled mind and exhausted body. Willpower is carrying you forward. This analogy holds true for any endurance event, any endeavor that requires a test of wills: boxing, triathlon, sea-kayaking and politics.
I firmly believe that this is where George W. Bush was a couple of weeks ago when he selected Harriet Miers to be the next Justice on the Supreme Court. Tired and perplexed by the undeserved and super-hyped criticism of his administration in the wake of the Katrina tragedy and bearing the day-to-day burden that comes with being the only adult in the room of foreign policy, his normally keen instincts failed him and he went with a trusted friend. In doing so, he is throwing away the chance that a generation of conservatives has prayed for: to put a literal reader of the Constitution on the bench and end, for at least the next generation, the left’s sole remaining lever of power. This was the Battle of Bannockburn we had waited for and W was to be our Robert the Bruce.
Instead, we woke up and found that W’s father was back in office and we got David Souter in a skirt. In fairness to Harriet Miers she may, if she stays in and gets appointed, turn out to be the next Antonin Scalia. But I am highly doubtful and this is no time to experiment with different flavors for judicial candidates. There are too many highly qualified candidates with well established credentials who are steeped in conservative thought. And they come in many different flavors too: female, Hispanic, African-American, white, etc. etc. Now clearly the process of confirmation has become such a ridiculous circus that I can appreciate a sitting judge not wanting to partake, the White House has hinted at this, but I cannot believe they all passed. As a jurist and scholar of law you are given the one chance to join the highest court in the land and you take a powder? Not likely! To use another sports analogy…it’s 3rd and short and you are on the goal line…the play is called down from the Offensive coordinator’s booth…are you going to punch it in with your fullback? Go for the quarterback sneak? Student body left? No, the punting unit is coming on the field! You’re not even going to go for the field goal!
To repeat Tolstoy’s great question: “What then must we do?” My answer here is two letters and a prayer. Write one letter to the White House…tell the President what a terrific job he is doing around the world but that you have a hollow place inside over his latest judicial nominee…ask him to withdraw the nomination. Write another letter to your Senator…tell them the same thing you told the President and ask that they vote against the nomination. Pray. Pray for Harriet Miers – I have no doubt she is a fine person who may belong in the judiciary on the Federal Bench, but she’s not ready for the Majors! Pray that she sees what her nomination is doing to the conservative movement and withdraws herself. Pray for wisdom for W in (hopefully) his next selection to the bench. Finally, pray for the country. Even if Harriet does become elevated to the Supreme Court, we’re not going to dissolve as a nation…but we need prayers for strength from all of us.

Post note:
I received the following from a dear friend and trusted advisor after publishing this column originally. I have followed the advise and added the question mark:

Maybe Miers is Souter in a skirt. But maybe she isn't. This isn't some obscure New Hampshire judge being sold to the President as solid (by Warren Rudman) when he wasn't. The President knows Harriet Miers. He trusts Harriet Miers. That's why I've kept my powder dry -- because I trust W. However, it is possible that his political judgment has failed him. So I would suggest, since we don't know for sure, that you add a question mark to your headline: Souter in a Skirt? After all, maybe she's Scalia or Thomas in a skirt.