October 31, 2005 [LINK]
President Bush's nomination of Samuel A. Alito Jr. to the Supreme Court was a very pleasant surprise for weary conservatives, and a rude shock to the partisan wing of the Democrats, who thought they had Bush on the ropes. Now, will the Senate confirm him? One good sign today was the Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), one of the seven centrist Republicans on the "Gang of 15" who reached a compromise that prevented the "nuclear option" (see my May 24 post), said that Alito was a good choice. Meanwhile, NARAL, Sen. Chuck Schumer, and the other usual suspects bewailed caving in to the "far right wing," see Washington Post. How absurd. Every time I start to worry that Republican candidates are going a bit too far with their campaign rhetoric, somebody on the Left comes along to say something utterly preposterous. I guess "far right wing" means someone who adheres closely to the U.S. Constitution. As I stressed in my October 23 post, however, the point is not to ram through a judge who adheres to right-wing dogma, but to win broad acceptance of a sensible conservative who has independence, integrity, and a deep respect for the constitution's original meaning.
Last Friday Bush in dire straits, and today he's back in command. Was the Miers nomination just a tactical "feint," maneuvering to get into a more favorable psychological position for the nomination battle? If so, perhaps Karl Rove deserves more credit than some of us often give him.
Today I edited and posted on the swacgop.org Web site a video of the GOP picnic that was held on Saturday, which featured RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman, and the Virginia candidates for Lieutenant Governor, Bill Bolling, and Attorney General, Bob McDonnell. What would I do without Apple's iMovie program?