Bush Caves

He's desperate, and what's more, he knows it. I called this one wrong. I thought Bush would do something to show he was still his own man, and if I was putting down money, it would've been on Alberto Gonzales. But no, he went straight to the conservative brain trust to give the right-wingers everything they ever hoped for. I've had discussions recently with others who've thought he's been in their back pockets for quite some time (bordering on always), but I've maintained that, although he may sometimes look like it, he wouldn't follow anyone blindly. But it appears that I've been giving him too much credit.

My current theory, for what it's worth, is that this is still quite a new development. He thought he could control the religious right until they completely rebelled on Harriet Miers. Bush thought he could charm them back into the fold, but when it became clear that this wasn't going to work, he flashed back to his father's experience with "Read my lips." He saw his own presidency flushing down the same toilet, and he couldn't have that, so he went crawling back. Of course, with approval ratings at 39 percent and lower across the board, there's no guarantee that he'll be able to climb out of the toilet, but at least his fall from grace won't follow the same path as that of his father.

Alito is a choice designed to provoke a fight, and actually, this might work well for everybody involved. The Prez looks like he's willing to go to the mat for his base, so he gets what he wants, I suppose, but the price of it may finally be scaring away everyone who's not in the religious right for good. Let's see how Arlen Specter responds. It could also work well for the Democrats, who've been horribly sluggish in responding to the crashing and burning of the Bushies. Theoretically, the Dems provide some sort of alternative to the Repubs, but that's been restricted to the ethereal world of theory for far too long. If you're one of those who likes to see their evidence manifested in the real world, you've been going through an extended dry spell. But Alito might finally rouse the Dems from their slumber. If they've been afraid to take Bush on up to now (and I'm not saying they have been, but they've offered very little to suggest they haven't), perhaps they'll gather some courage from the fact that his presidency is at its weakest point so far. If this brings the Democratic Party back to life, then I'm all for Alito's nomination (though not, let me hasten to point out, his confirmation).

It'll be interesting to see how this develops, particularly since it won't be developing in a vacuum. Scooter goes to court on Thursday for his arraignment, and Fitzgerald can conceivably drop another shoe at any time. Will Dems in the Senate filibuster? They might. Will the Repubs try the nuclear option? With Frist under investigation for insider trading and Bush popularity at all-time lows, they can certainly try. Can they get their 51 votes? I guess we'll have to wait and see. The political landscape is considerably different than it was earlier this year when we faced these questions before. Republican success was questionably then, and it's only grown less likely since. This administration has been off its game for quite a while these days, so I'm hyped to see what'll happen now that the Prez has declared, "Game on!"