Meanwhile yesterday, a leading Christian conservative said the White House told him that some prospective Supreme Court nominees conservatives would have preferred withdrew their names from President Bush's "short list" before the nomination -- raising the possibility that Miss Miers wasn't Mr. Bush's first pick.
James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, said he spoke with Deputy White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove on Oct. 1 -- two days before the Miers nomination -- and was told that "Harriet Miers was at the top of the short list."Also on that list were several candidates that many conservatives say they would have preferred, Mr. Dobson said on his radio program that was recorded yesterday and will be broadcast today.
"Well, what Karl told me is that some of those individuals took themselves off that list," he said, according to a transcript obtained last night. "They would not allow their names to be considered because the process has become so vicious and so vitriolic and so bitter that they didn't want to subject themselves or the members of their families to it."
Is this going to be the pattern for the future? Will highly qualified candidates bow out rather than be put through this excrutiating process? If yes, that's bad news for the country because we may find ourselves settling for less than the best on the highest court.
The Senators have themselves to blame. Both parties have special interest groups which pressure their Senators to pound candidates on every little issue, and the resulting process has become a nightmare for the candidate and the country. Many highly qualified people will look at the process and will want no part of that.
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