Half of Senate Republicans Have Doubts About Miers

So far the Senate Republicans remained underwhelmed by the Harriet Miers nomination:

Nearly half of Senate Republicans say they remain unconvinced that Harriet Miers is worthy of being confirmed to the Supreme Court, according to a survey conducted by The Washington Times.

As with the nomination of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., the vast majority of senators say they will not announce their final decisions about the nomination until after Senate Judiciary Committee hearings, which are expected sometime next month.

What's troubling for President Bush, however, is that 27 Republican senators -- almost half of his party's members in the chamber -- have publicly expressed specific doubts about Miss Miers or said they must withhold any support whatsoever for her nomination until after the hearings.

Of course, that doesn't mean they'll vote against her, but I think many are taking a wait-and-see approach to see how she does in the confirmation hearings. If she does well, they can endorse her without fear of embarrassment. However, if she does not do well, they won't have the problem of either endorsing a weak candidate, or backtracking on a previous endorsement.

All in all, not a vote of confidence.