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October 05, 2005

George Will: justify my love

I'm still sorting out my thoughts on Harriet Miers. George Will has sorted things out for himself and seems pretty pissed off:

It is important that Miers not be confirmed unless, in her 61st year, she suddenly and unexpectedly is found to have hitherto undisclosed interests and talents pertinent to the court's role. Otherwise the sound principle of substantial deference to a president's choice of judicial nominees will dissolve into a rationalization for senatorial abdication of the duty to hold presidents to some standards of seriousness that will prevent them from reducing the Supreme Court to a private plaything useful for fulfilling whims on behalf of friends.

Uh..no offense George, but isn't that what many said about confirming Roberts? All of a suddent that senatorial "consent" role is looking a little more important.

But Will saves his harshest rhetoric for the President himself:

He [Bush] has neither the inclination nor the ability to make sophisticated judgments about competing approaches to construing the Constitution. Few presidents acquire such abilities in the course of their pre-presidential careers, and this president particularly is not disposed to such reflections.

Furthermore, there is no reason to believe that Miers's nomination resulted from the president's careful consultation with people capable of such judgments. If 100 such people had been asked to list 100 individuals who have given evidence of the reflectiveness and excellence requisite in a justice, Miers's name probably would not have appeared in any of the 10,000 places on those lists.

In addition, the president has forfeited his right to be trusted as a custodian of the Constitution. The forfeiture occurred March 27, 2002, when, in a private act betokening an uneasy conscience, he signed the McCain-Feingold law expanding government regulation of the timing, quantity and content of political speech. The day before the 2000 Iowa caucuses he was asked -- to ensure a considered response from him, he had been told in advance that he would be asked -- whether McCain-Feingold's core purposes are unconstitutional. He unhesitatingly said, "I agree." Asked if he thought presidents have a duty, pursuant to their oath to defend the Constitution, to make an independent judgment about the constitutionality of bills and to veto those he thinks unconstitutional, he briskly said, "I do."

George Will has finally reached the inescapable, inevitable conclusion that many of us liberals reached ages ago: George W. Bush is an incapable, hypocritical individual who is emminently unqualified to make the important leadership decisions necessary for the President of the United States.

Unfortunately, Will is unlikely to draw the next inevitable conclusion: conservatism is rife with individuals like Bush. It has to be in order for conservatism to gain political victories.

"Cutting pork" and "less government" are the cornerstones of conservativism, but not the American electorate, in general. We Americans like our government big, expensive and flush with the ability to answer to our whims and needs. We have an inherent distrust of the private sector..and rightfully so.

As long as conservatives lower taxes, drive up the debt and keep allowing lots of government programs and pork to stay in place, they'll get elected.

Will believes Miers is completely unqualified on many levels to be elevated to the position of Supreme Court jurist. If Will is correct, it would be a fitting tribute to the inability for Bush to make competent choices/decisions. The jewel in the crown of this disastrous presidency, as it were.

Posted by Carla at October 5, 2005 08:30 AM