FOXNews.com: Miers Withdrawals Nomination to Supreme Court.
All right. So now what?
Who the heck will President Bush nominate now?
(UPDATE 2.0 - go read the American Princess! She's got a CAUTION flag waving, and the whole piece is just brilliant:
In politics, there is no such thing as relief. If we believe that Miers was nominated through cronyism and through some sort of momentary lapse in wavelength with the voters, then we have no choice but to expect that the next candidate will not only be worse, but more of a compromise. Brace yourselves, Republicans, this is going to be a bumpy ride.)
UPDATE - more:
Miers' surprise withdrawal stunned Washington on a day when the capital was awaiting news on another front -- the possible indictment of senior White House aides in the CIA leak case.
Miers notified Bush of her decision at 8:30 p.m., according to a senior White House official who said the president will move quickly to find a new nominee.
and MSNBC
In her letter dated Thursday, Miers said she was concerned that the confirmation process "would create a burden for the White House and our staff that is not in the best interest of the country."
She noted that members of the Senate had indicated their intention to seek documents about her service in the White House in order to judge whether to support her nomination to the Supreme Court. "I have been informed repeatedly that in lieu of records, I would be expected to testify about my service in the White House to demonstrate my experience and judicial philosophy," she wrote.
"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."
So - again - what now?
OTB has a good round up of links, including the .pdf of Miers' letter. James comments:
Let me be clear about something, though: While I am glad this is over, this controversy reflects badly on President Bush, not Harriet Miers. From all indications, Miers is a decent, honorable woman. The fact that she did not meet the incredibly high threshold of being qualified to sit on the Supreme Court is no shame. Unfortunately, the president put her in a position to become the target of public ridicule. She did nothing to deserve that.
Captain Ed comments here. (HT to TMH's Bacon Bits for the OTB and CQ links)
And, of course, Michelle Malkin is on it, and says "What a relief. Sad, pensive, what-a-waste relief. Not happy-joy-joy relief."
