Possibly the most infuriating part of this Miers fight is the continuing insinuation that we were “character assassinating” by criticizing the White House choice of Miers. This was a bad choice. The White House made a mistake. To have acknowledged that–and insisted that was the case, despite “trust me” rallying cries–was not being mean and nasty. If we were ever perceived that way, I apologize, but I think most of this was a fair and honest debate, playing out in the 24-hour comment machines we’ve got in this weird 21st century world.