memeorandum @ 3:20 PM ET, October 3, 2005

Top Items:

Do You Trust Him? — Harriet Miers isn't a Justice Souter pick, so don't be silly. It is a solid, B+ pick. The first President Bush didn't know David Souter, but trusted Chief of Staff Sunnunu and Senator Rudman. The first President Bush got burned badly because he trusted the enthusiams of others.

Discussion: aclj.org, Ace of Spades HQ, Bench Memos …, TAPPED, Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler, ProfessorBainbridge.com, The Anchoress and Southern Appeal

RELATED ITEMS:

Washington Post:

Bush Names Harriet Miers to Supreme Court — White House Counsel Would Replace O'Connor — President Bush has chosen White House Counsel Harriet Miers as associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. — Miers, who was Bush's personal attorney in Texas, was the first woman elected president …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, firedoglake, The Strata-Sphere, The Washington Monthly, cut on the bias, Project Nothing!, Law Dork, Opinions You Should Have, democracy guy, Underneath Their Robes, Legal Fiction and Begging to Differ

William Kristol / Weekly Standard:

Disappointed, Depressed and Demoralized — I'M DISAPPOINTED, depressed and demoralized. — I'm disappointed because I expected President Bush to nominate someone with a visible and distinguished constitutionalist track record—someone like Maura Corrigan, Alice Batchelder, Edith Jones …

Discussion: etc., The Anchoress and TAPPED

Hindrocket / Power Line:

A DISAPPOINTMENT — Harriet Miers, that is. I'm sure that she is a capable lawyer and a loyal aide to President Bush. But the bottom line is that he had a number of great candidates to choose from, and instead of picking one of them—Luttig, McConnell, Brown, or a number of others …

Discussion: Right Wing Nut House, Billmon, MaxSpeak, Dean's World, The Hotline's Blogometer, The Politburo Diktat, In the Agora, Greg's Opinion, GOP Bloggers and Stop The ACLU

Michelle Malkin:

UTTERLY UNDERWHELMED — ***scroll down for rolling updates*** — What Julie Myers is to the Department of Homeland Security, Harriet Miers is to the Supreme Court. (Video of the announcement here via NYT).) It's not just that Miers has zero judicial experience.

Glenn Reynolds / Instapundit.com:

IT'S HARRIET MIERS for Sandra Day O'Connor's position. (Via a GOP press release). — UPDATE: More here. Perhaps they'll change my mind, but so far I'm underwhelmed. — ANOTHER UPDATE: Mark Daniels: "Another stealth nominee?" — GayPatriot has predictions.

Discussion: World Magazine Blog, www.AndrewSullivan.com, Begging to Differ, ACSBlog, Daily Pundit and PoliPundit.com

John Hawkins / Right Wing News:

Disaster, Thy Name Is Harriet Miers — George Bush's decision to appoint Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court is bitterly disappointing. — Miers is a Bush crony with no real conservative credentials, who leapfrogged legions of more deserving judges just because she was Bush's pal.

Discussion: JunkYardBlog, Blogs for Bush, QandO, irishpennants.com, The Anchoress, The Right Coast, The Blue State Conservatives and One Hand Clapping

Steve Bainbridge / ProfessorBainbridge.com:

Harriet Who? — Bush has nominated Harriet Miers to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the SCOTUS. I'm appalled: — She's 60. There were lots of highly qualified younger candidates out there who would have sat on the court for decades. — She has no judicial experience.

Discussion: Off the Kuff, The Corner on National … and Houston's Clear Thinkers

CNN:

Bush picks White House counsel for Supreme Court — If confirmed, Harriet Miers would succeed O'Connor — WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush nominated White House counsel Harriet Miers on Monday to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Discussion: Alas, a blog, This Blog Is Full Of Crap, Common Sense and Wonder, Public Eye and Crooked Timber

White House:

President Nominates Harriet Miers as Supreme Court Justice — THE PRESIDENT: In our great democracy, the Supreme Court is the guardian of our constitutional freedoms and the protector of our founding promise of equal justice under the law. Over the past five years, I've spoken clearly …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, danieldrezner.com, Steve Clemons, The Heretik, Talking Points Memo, Confirm Them and The Carpetbagger Report

Tom Goldstein / SCOTUSblog:

Analysis: Some Initial Thoughts — I really need to get down to the Court to argue but wanted to note my sense that the President's nomination creates a very interesting political dynamic - one that places the nomination in peril. The nomination obviously will be vigorously supported …

Discussion: Balkinization, Crescat Sententia, Bench Memos …, Southern Appeal, Majikthise and BuzzMachine

Krempasky / RedState.org:

A promise unkept? Who the hell knows. — We've got a lot to learn about SCOTUS nominee Harriet Miers. To hear the White House tell us, "With her distinguished career and extensive community involvement, Ms. Miers would bring a wealth of personal experience and diversity to the Supreme Court."

Discussion: PoliPundit.com and Wonkette