Miers battle is over

I felt the hearings would be crucial. Thus, the analysis over at Volokh Conspiracy makes sense to me.

Harriet Miers is by all accounts a good person and a solid lawyer, but wasn't particularly well-suited for the unique environment of the Supreme Court. As I noted last week, I think the tipping point was sometime last Thusday or Friday, when it became clear on the Hill that Miers just wasn't going to be able to deliver the kind of performance at her hearings that she needed to deliver to get confirmed.

Who is going to be nominated next?

Here is a list from University of Pittsburgh law school.

Will the President brace for a showdown fight by picking one of the favorites of the Federalist Society?

Or will the President pick a Senator (Kyl and Hatch have been mentioned) because he would be confirmable?

I don't think a "stealth" or "surprise" candidate would survive in this political climate.

UPDATE: As I drove to work, I heard David Frum on the radio, he was opposed to Miers fairly early. He cited that the tide was turning against her for some time. He mentioned that for some supporters, the last straw was reports on speeches she gave 12 years ago.

On Hugh Hewitt's radioshow, Erwin Chemerinsky, a left of center law professor, said his Senate Judiciary committee sources were telling him that some Republican members didn't have a good feeling about the one-on-one interviews with Miers.