Ramesh, that’s also an excellent point regarding what Republicans need to do.

In politics, the goal should never be avoidance of conflict. Politics is about fighting.

The trick is to pick the right fights; to not let your opponents pick the fights; and to use fights to promote principles and precedents – while making sure you only engage on battlefields where you have an advantage over your opponents and are therefore likelier than not to win. (Good polling provides reliable clues.) Finally, the best fights energize your base while damaging your opponent and/or depressing his base.

The miscalculation behind the Miers nomination may have been along these lines: “A conservative, evangelical woman without a paper trail who comes recommended by Harry Reid? Why we won’t even have to fight over this one!” A rank amateur mistake.