Reaction to President Bush's nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court has run the gamut of extreme emotion. Most of the solid conservatives in the media are moping so morosely you would think that the Senate Republicans had just had their majority status revoked.
There are a few notable exceptions. Some conservative commentators think this is another brilliant stroke of W's hidden genius. And it may well be. But I'd feel a little better about Miers' nomination if our national borders didn't continue to be one vast frontier open for anyone and his cellmates to roam through. “You're with us or against us" is hard to take seriously when illegal entry terrorists may be renting the condo down the street.
I hearken back to that November 2001 speech only as a barometer of trust. The president is asking us to take him at his word that Miers is a good choice. Living in Southern California, I would trust his word more easily if the borders were under control. With President Bush, I’m at a “trust, but verify” stage of relationship.
But that’s my problem. As president, George W. Bush gets to choose the nominees for the Supreme Court vacancies. That’s the rule, and it’s worked out well for a couple of centuries. The disappointed will have to cope, and the gratified still need to wait and see how this whole drama shakes out. If confirmed, Miers could be an unmitigated disaster, or she could be the best hidden blessing to ever grace the high bench.
We can trust, for now. Time will verify.
