Miers not right enough for US right

The announcement was made with the White House on the defensive on several fronts, including the possible indictment of senior officials over the leaking of a CIA operative’s name and deep concern among Americans over the Iraq war.

As a reason for pulling out, Miers (60) cited the need to maintain privacy of her White House service. Members of Congress wanted to see internal records that Bush vowed to keep confidential.

Miers said in a letter to Bush she was concerned the Senate confirmation process “presents a burden for the White House and our staff that is not in the best interest of the country”. “While I believe that my lengthy career provides sufficient evidence for consideration of my nomination, I am convinced the efforts to obtain Executive Branch materials and information will continue,” she said.

Predictably, the guessing game has renewed over who Bush would pick for the job. A senior Republican leadership aide said that the Senate would likely wait until January before holding a confirmation hearing on the pending nominee.

Some opponents had mounted a campaign to force Miers’ withdrawal ever since she was announced on October 3, and some conservative senators had expressed doubts of whether she was sufficiently conservative to move the nine-member high court firmly to the right. They also argued she lacked experience in constitutional law and was basically a crony of the president. Some Democrats were skeptical about whether she was against a woman’s right to abortion, a hugely divisive issue that could come before the Supreme Court.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat who had urged Bush to consider Miers for the court, charged, “The radical right wing of the Republican Party killed the Harriet Miers nomination. Apparently, Ms. Miers did not satisfy those who want to pack the Supreme Court with rigid ideologues,” Reid said.

Miers decided to withdraw even though no senator, Democratic or Republican, had announced plans to oppose her. Yet members of both parties had openly questioned if she was up to the job.

“Harriet Miers is a fine and capable person, but this was clearly the wrong position for her,” said New York Sen. Charles Schumer, ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Her gracious withdrawal saves Harriet Miers and the nation from a difficult and agonising process and decision.” —Reuters