Harriet-Hating Right Loves Sam

Ron Brownstein in the LAT: "With his nomination of Samuel A. Alito Jr., President Bush has offered the clear-cut choice about the Supreme Court's direction that activists on the right have been expecting -- and even demanding -- throughout his presidency.

"Activists on both sides believe the selection of Alito, a federal appellate judge with a staunchly conservative record, to replace moderate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor could crystallize the debate over issues such as abortion, civil rights and the court's overall role in society more sharply than any court nomination since President George H.W. Bush picked Clarence Thomas in 1991 . . .

"For all the fervor they instantly displayed, Alito's opponents face the challenge of generating significant public resistance to a nominee whose legal credentials are unquestioned. That hurdle proved far greater than Democrats expected during the confirmation of Roberts as chief justice in September."

Rick Klein in the Boston Globe: "Mollified conservative voices within the Republican Party, with no hint of the backlash that sank the nomination of Harriet E. Miers."

Edward Epstein in the San Francisco Chronicle: "Delighted his conservative base, infuriated liberal Democrats and set the stage for a bruising Senate battle."

Charles Babington in The Washington Post: "Senate Democrats will lead the opposition to Samuel A. Alito Jr.'s Supreme Court nomination, but a handful of Republican moderates could ultimately decide its outcome."

The Wall Street Journal also bows to the Gang of 14: "Fate of Mr. Bush's latest choice for the bench will probably be determined by a small bipartisan group of senators who can make or break any Democratic attempt to block a vote on the nomination."

Slate's John Dickerson : "The White House has picked a candidate the conservatives in the green room love. Right-wingers in the real world will like Alito, too. And only the pickiest of pundits will note that Bush has zigzagged wildly in his selection criteria. Gone are the bows to affirmative action and judicial diversity that were central to the Miers pick. Gone are the testimonies to the nominee's religious faith. The president did not mention that Alito is a Catholic or opine about the role of religion in his life, as he did with Miers. Alito's religious affiliation was not even mentioned in the official biographical materials the White House released . . .

"Conservatives like political expediency when it's their interests that are being tended to. They may be needy these days, but they already seem to have forgiven Bush for wandering into the Miers cul-de-sac. The blast of e-mails supporting Alito as a strict constructionist was filling my inbox before breakfast. When Miers was nominated, approving testimonials started as a trickle and then stopped altogether. This time the e-mails have lots of chewy talking points, such as Alito's unanimous approval for the U.S. Court of Appeals by a Democrat-controlled judiciary committee and Senate in 1990 . . .

"After spending the last several weeks on defense, Bush will have at least two days where he gets to decide what goes on the front page."

David Frum , who ripped Harriet Miers two hours after she was nominated and wound up organizing a group to oppose her, is far more pleased by the new guy:

"President Bush has made a perfect pick for the Supreme Court in Samuel Alito. There may be a fight over this nomination, but it is a fight that will unite conservatives in support of the president and his fine choice. And in the end, it is a fight that conservatives will win."