President Bush wakes up after being mugged by reality.

Although he had to be loudly reminded who elected him twice, Mr. Bush did a good thing and nominated Judge Samuel Alito to take O'Connor's seat on the Supreme Court. A cursory look at Judge Alito's record (he actually has one!) shows him to be a man of intellect and reason who actually seems to have read the US Constitution once or twice.

Also, it is always a good thing to see who a man's enemies are.

"The nomination of Judge Alito requires an especially long, hard look by the Senate because of what happened last week to Harriet Miers. Conservative activists forced Miers to withdraw from consideration for this same Supreme Court seat because she was not radical enough for them. Now the Senate needs to find out if the man replacing Miers is too radical for the American people." _ Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.


"Rather than selecting a nominee for the good of the nation and the court, President Bush has picked a nominee whom he hopes will stop the massive hemorrhaging of support on his right wing. This is a nomination based on weakness, not strength." _ Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass.


"President Bush put the demands of his far-right political base above Americans' constitutional rights and legal protections by nominating federal appeals court Judge Samuel Alito to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor." _ Ralph Neas, president of the liberal People For the American Way.


"It is sad that the president felt he had to pick a nominee likely to divide America instead of choosing a nominee in the mold of Sandra Day O'Connor, who would unify us. This controversial nominee, who would make the court less diverse and far more conservative, will get very careful scrutiny from the Senate and from the American people." _ Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.
(Thanks to Washington's other newspaper for the above quotes.)