1) There was some speculation on CNN that Bush might nominate Alberto Gonzales now. I don’t think so. Yes, he has more of a track record, having been a justice of the Texas supreme court and having been White House counsel for a longer time than Miers. But the administration surely can’t relish facing cronyism charges, conservative disaffection, and requests for privileged documents all over again. I think most anti-Miers conservatives calculated from the beginning that a consequence of her defeat or withdrawal would not be a Justice Gonzales, which made it easier for them to advocate against her, and I think they calculated correctly. (I think that’s true even though there will be a diminished appetite for an intraparty fight on the part of conservatives as well as the White House.)

2) I have written more times than Kathryn would like to remember that I have no objection if the president makes the political judgment that it is necessary to nominate a woman or a member of a racial minority group to win confirmation. But I don’t think that judgment is true in this case.