The Heart of the Matter

"The president also said he did not recall ever talking to Ms. Miers, whom he has known for more than a decade, about her personal views on abortion, and he reiterated that he was a 'pro-life president' who nonetheless had no litmus test on the issue when selecting judicial candidates."

Boston Globe : "Declaring that his Supreme Court nominee 'will not legislate from the bench,' President Bush yesterday fended off criticism from conservative allies unhappy with the nomination of his White House counsel, Harriet E. Miers."

Chicago Tribune : "Stepping out from the Oval Office on an overcast morning, President Bush appeared browbeaten. He sounded wistful about his party's political fortunes and even his own. Yet with a subdued tone selected for an audience far beyond the reporters before him, the president issued an intensely personal appeal Tuesday for an understanding of his latest decision stirring controversy: the nomination of a close friend for a seat on the Supreme Court."

Washington Times : "President Bush sought to calm conservatives over his latest Supreme Court pick in a rare Rose Garden press conference yesterday, but some Republicans on Capitol Hill remain unconvinced."

Rich Lowry can't put a good face on the Miers pick:

"It might turn out that she is an outstanding justice. But there is no way for anyone besides President Bush's immediate circle to know it. Of course, other Supreme Court justices have come without experience on the bench. Chief Justice Earl Warren was governor of California. Harriet Miers was 'an elected member of the Dallas City Council,' as Bush put it in his announcement of her nomination.

"Watching Bush strain to pump up her accomplishments was cringe-making. He said she has tried cases 'before state and federal courts'! She has 'argued appeals that covered a broad range of matters'! She was head of the Texas Lottery Commission and 'insisted on a system that was fair and honest'! She was a leader with Child Care Dallas, Meals on Wheels, and other charitable groups! She has a law degree! From Southern Methodist University!

"Of course, Miers currently has a heavy-hitting job as White House counsel. That is testament to a certain legal acumen, and she has apparently impressed people with whom she has worked closely. But given the significance of a lifetime appointment to the nation's highest Court, this is a rather thin qualification. Indeed, the most important reason Miers was picked is that Bush is comfortable with her."

Fred Barnes gives Bush the benefit of the doubt-- for a paragraph, at least:

"If all goes well, Harriet Miers will turn out to be a less impressive version of John Roberts: that is, a judicial conservative, or constitutionalist, who will cause the ideological balance on the Supreme Court to shift to the right. She's not likely to have Roberts's gift for describing and defending a conservative judicial philosophy, dodging questions on current issues, and toying with frustrated Democrats. All she needs to do is come off as a credible mainstream conservative, avoid the questions that Democrats will try to trick her on, and persuade senators she's not merely a Bush crony. That accomplished, she should be confirmed.

"She'd better be able to do this. If she can't-- if she's not really a conservative-- the political effect will be to shatter President Bush's still-strong relationship with his base. The love affair will be over. The president will have dashed the hopes cherished by conservatives for a conservative Supreme Court. And he will be far weaker as a national political leader as a result."

Jonah Goldberg challenges his fellow conservatives to face facts: