Samuel Alito for Supreme Court?

[arnisador]

http://news.yahoo.com/fc/us/supreme_court

President Bush, stung by the rejection of his first choice, nominated veteran judge Samuel Alito on Monday in a bid to reshape the Supreme Court and mollify his conservative allies. Ready-to-rumble Democrats warned that Alito may be an extremist who would curb abortion rights.

Judge Alito has served with distinction on that court for 15 years, and now has more prior judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in more than 70 years," Bush said, drawing an unspoken contrast to his first choice, Harriet Miers.

This would decrease the number of women from 2 to 1. But, it'll appease his Republican supporters for sure, and he's obviously on the defensive aboutthe judicial experience issue.

I don't know anything about Judge Alito--I'll be curious to watch the news in the next few days.

 

[michaeledward]

Some had suggested Ms. Miers was nominated as a decoy, with the expectation that her name be withdrawn and a 'True Conservative' would be nominated.

Apparently 'True Conservative' means that African Americans get 3/5ths of a vote, and women get no vote ... but that's a different argument.

Looking back, I could see a grand scheme, dare I say Rovian scheme.

• Nominate Miers and suffer three weeks of attacks from the right.
• Withdraw her name the day before Fitzgerald announces indictments.
• Nominate the 'True Conservative' immediately after the indictments.

While this hypothesis may be a bit too far into the 'tin-hat' crowd, it certainly has the odor that this White House has eminated over the past 5 years. It attempts to bury the bad news about the President's Assistant being indicted for making up stories.

The question is, was Rove able to strategize while under suspicion of indictment. He is not yet out of the woods with Fitzgerald, but he is a cool cucumber.

I suppose it is now a race with time; can Alito get elevated before Libby goes to trial. Which story will drive what William Safire called 'the narrative'.

 

[Xequat]

Yeah I kind of wondered if Miers was never expected to get the seat because her nomination wasn't very well-received, but now Bush can say that he tried to nominate a woman, but she was rejected, so it's not his fault. Could have been a distraction, too, like you say.

I've just heard a very little bit on the radio about him, but I didn't quite catch the whole thing because it was only a five-minute drive and most of what I heard was opinion on talk radio. Evidently, he ruled that a husband (might have been a father, but I think it was a husband; I forget the exact wording) has the right to know if his wife plans to have an abortion. They have been comparing him a lot to Scalia, too.

 

[arnisador]

It's official:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/court_al...iRuCM0A;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

He'll be sworn in today.

 

[Ping898]

It's official:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/court_alito_vote_dc;_ylt=AlhI9uokJf2AUqQsISS9ciRuCM0A;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

He'll be sworn in today.

bummer