Editorial: Bush’s politically safe choice

Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2005 | 8:06 a.m.

President Bush has nominated Harriet Miers, the White House counsel, to succeed Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court. Bush had been pressed by many Democrats and Republicans to pick a woman, especially since O'Connor was the Supreme Court's first female justice. So on that count alone the decision wasn't a surprise.

But the fact that Miers hasn't been a judge -- and so doesn't have a legal paper trail on some of the important and controversial issues facing the high court -- has created some strange bedfellows of skepticism and outright opposition to her nomination.

For instance, some pro-life groups have denounced her nomination, saying they felt betrayed that Bush wouldn't select someone who could be counted on to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. Meanwhile, pro-choice groups are leery of Miers for a couple of reasons. Not only did she move, as head of the Texas State Bar, to have the American Bar Association reconsider its support of Roe v. Wade, but Miers also has been a longtime confidant of Bush's, who believes Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided.

While the interest groups seem as if they are itching for a fight, the reaction in the Senate, which will either confirm or reject the nomination, was different. She was nearly universally praised by Republicans and even well received by many Democrats. Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who voted against John Roberts to be chief justice of the Supreme Court, said he was "very happy" with the nomination.

Reid had made it clear to Bush early on that selecting a far-right jurist, especially someone who is bent on overturning Roe v. Wade, would lead to a Democratic filibuster. It would appear that the president, who is hurting in opinion polls, decided now isn't a good time for a highly divisive fight.

With this nomination, Bush appears to have made a politically safe move. But we don't believe the Senate should roll over for Bush during Miers' confirmation hearings. Senators should ask tough questions about what would guide her judicial philosophy. And while abortion is getting much of the attention, O'Connor was a voice of reason and a critical swing vote on many other issues -- including other civil liberties' protections such as religious freedom and free speech. They deserve scrutiny as well.