Quagmiered

AP

[exerpts]

In a striking defeat for President Bush, White House counsel Harriet Miers on Thursday abandoned her bid to become a Supreme Court justice after three weeks of brutal criticism from fellow conservatives. The Senate's top Republican predicted a replacement candidate within days.

"In effect, she was denied due process by members of her own party," said Sen. John Warner, R-Va. And former GOP Sen. Dan Coats, whom the White House assigned to assist Miers' confirmation campaign, said outside groups and pundits and "perhaps even some senators" had rushed to judgment.

Bush, beset by poor poll ratings, an unpopular war in Iraq, high energy prices and the possibility of indictments of White House officials, offered no hint about his thinking on a new nominee. He pledged to make an appointment in a "timely manner."

While White House aides had assembled a lengthy list of contenders prior to Bush's selection of Miers less than a month ago, most if not all of them were prominent conservative jurists who could be expected to trigger a sharp clash with Democrats. Other, less contentious contenders could come from outside what Bush calls the "judicial monastery," possibly a current or former senator who could easily win confirmation on a bipartisan vote.

Ironically for conservatives, the withdrawal means an extended tenure for Justice
Sandra Day O'Connor, whose vote has been decisive over the years on 5-4 rulings that upheld abortion rights, sustained affirmative action and limited the application of the death penalty.

The White House worked to depict the collapse of Miers' nomination as a simple matter of principle — upholding executive privilege. However, in an interview two weeks ago, Sen. Arlen Specter , chairman of the Judiciary Committee, was asked whether he thought there was a chance Bush would withdraw the nomination. "Absolutely not," the Pennsylvania Republican responded. "I think that would be a sign of incredible weakness."