Who said Bush wouldn’t get Gonzales through the Senate to the Court? I didn’t. I didn’t even say Gonzales wouldn’t get the votes of Allen, Frist, et al. I just said that it would be a tougher vote for them than a vote on a more obviously conservative nominee would be.

Also, there is a portion of the Right that invested in the Bush presidency for the Supreme Court. It will do no good with these people to say that they should not risk ruining the Bush presidency over their objection to a nominee. From their perspective, the Bush presidency would already have been ruined–and their motive for caring about the fate of the Republicans would be much diminished.