Bush Nominates Miers to Replace O'Connor

President Bush has nominated Harriet Miers, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy,  to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

• White House Announcement
• ABC
• CNN
• Fox News
• NY Times
• Wall Street Journal
• Washington Post

Here are some Google references to Ms. Miers and tax:

• Ask the White House (10/14/04)
• Ask the White House (19/29/04)

Update:  The President's conservative base is not pleased, as FEC reports indicate that Ms. Miers contributed to the DNC and to the campaigns of both Al Gore and Lloyd Bentsen.

Update II:  Jonathan Turley (George Washington) call this "an amazingly bad choice."

Update III:  David Bernstein (George Mason) has mixed feelings:

[M]y initial reaction is that it's unfortunate (but not surprising) that for both Supreme Court nominations, the president has chosen well-connected insiders with ties to the executive branch, rather than individuals who are more likely to bring a more "independent" perspective to issues of government and especially presidential power. And appointing his "personal lawyer" from Texas seems very Lyndon Johnsonish, and is hardly likely to repel recent charges of Bush Administration cronyism. On the other hand, I'm please that Miers is (a) not from an elite law school [SMU]; (b) not a federal judge; and (c) spent the vast majority of her career outside the beltway. All good things to bring new perspectives to the Court, and, in the case of (b), break a silly tradition [that Justices MUST be from the federal bench] that has evolved.

Update IV:  Jack Balkin (Yale) notes that the nomination "combines three important requirements for this President: First, Miers is a woman, preserving the number of women currently on the Court....Second, Miers is a long time friend of the President's whom he trusts on a personal level..  Third, Miers is a "stealth" candidate, who has not written or spoken much about the key issues that fill the Supreme Court's current docket."

Update V:  Adrien Wing (Iowa):  "[W]hat message does it send to women and men that out of  the many female judges that have joined  the bench over the past 30 years – not one was worthy of being promoted to the Court at this time."