News of Bush's new Supreme Court Nominee seems to have suprised no one, nor has it particularly motivated anyone. Everyone seems to be just sitting back and saying, he looks like a good guy, doesnt he? No matter that he's only been a Justice for 2 years and in an opinion not related to abortion he called for the Roe v. Wade decision to be overturned.

And what about the President's timeline on the nomination? For weeks there had been speculation that the President would thoroughly explore the options available and not rush to make a decision. Then, suddenly it was announced that this process had been "accelerated." What? At the minimum, it smells like foul play. Can we say Karl Rove? Signorile currently has a nice piece on the press' reaction to the nominee and the timing of the announcement RE: Karl Rove located here. Here's an nice quote from that:

Indeed, just as Bush announced that he'd picked his nominee, new information was surfacing on the blogs, linked to a piece on the American Prospect web site by Murray Waas, who was told by sources close to the investigation that Rove didn't tell the FBI in his first interview with agents that he'd ever discussed CIA officer Valerie Plame, Ambassador Joe Wilson's wife, with Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper. That's a serious offense and, if true, would nab Rove no matter how many Supreme Court nominations the White House uses to divert attention.

In any case, it seems that all sides have pretty much resigned themselves to this nominee's success. The Left isn't putting up a fight worth fighting. What really gets me is this "Gang of 14" bullshit. Don't be fooled. These are simply megalomaniacs interested in a piece of fame in DC. Let's not forget their dramatic announcement of their deal to prevent a showdown over filibusters. Every one of them came to the podium to give long, drawn-out speeches in an attempt to draw attention to themselves, not the issues at hand. It seems they have succeeded - the whim of 7 moderate Democrats has paralyzed the entire party.

Let's hope that the Dems find their voice during the Confirmation Hearings. Although, unfortunately, I expect Republicans to get entirely haughty about the process and refuse to allow any questions that might actually tell the American people what this mysterious Justice really believes and does not believe.

American Politics = nauseating.