Bush picks a pal and feeds a credibility crisis (The Sunday Times)

[struggle4progress]

<snip> Bush blew it. He bypassed any number of superb judges to place his personal lawyer on the court. Hence the explosion of anger. Dick Cheney was reduced to telling Rush Limbaugh, the famous right-wing radio host, that in 10 years’ time conservatives would look back and be glad that Miers was nominated. “Why should we have to wait 10 years?” came the response. “Trust me,” Cheney concluded. This from a man who told the world to trust him that there were weapons of mass destruction stockpiled in Iraq.

Why did Bush do it? Why, when he is already reeling after Katrina, soaring oil prices, out-of-control spending and chaos in Iraq, would he pick a fight with his base?

Bush is a proud and stubborn man. He’d been told by every right-wing pundit that he couldn’t put his favourite Hispanic crony, Alberto Gonzales, on the court. Over a week ago the Republican pundit John Podhoretz exclaimed: “Nobody on earth aside from Bush would actually consider Gonzales or Miers a suitable Supreme Court nominee.” Bush is not one to be cowed by right-wing hacks. So he gave them the proverbial finger. <snip>

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2092-1816998,00.html