Doug Ross @ Journal

Conservative angst on Miers

There's been a righteous diversity of opinion (okay, some would call it an uproar) among the right-of-center blogs concerning the appointment of Harriet Miers. There have been a host of negative reactions and a smattering of positive ones.

John at Powerline: "A disappointment."
Michelle Malkin: "Utterly underwhelmed."
John Yoo: "Opportunity squandered."
Ankle-Biting Pundits: "Is this what we fought for?"
John Hawkins: "A disaster."
Junkyard Blog: "Miers disappoints."

The most optimistic conservative I've seen so far is the effervescent Hugh Hewitt.

I hope the disappointed right will get over its sulk quickly as the fight over Miers is going to get very ugly very quickly as both the secular left and the anti-religious left realize that the president has nominated a thorough-going Evangelical of character and tough disposition. The light is going to go off over there that the president's eyebrows went up when Harry Reid scribbled Miers' name on the Minority Leader's list of acceptable nominees. Taking the ball and going home because the nominee doesn't know you by your first name is hardly principle at work, and the refusal to see what she brings to the table isn't argument. It is entertaining, and also a sort of wish for a return to the days of old when the president was a Democrat and brick throwing made life as a pundit easy... ...See also The American Thinker, which is simply brilliant. By day's end there will be great and spreading fear on the left, and perhaps some genuine remorse among the shoot first and think later right.

Give Hugh credit. At crunch-time, Hewitt's gut reactions have frequently been brutally accurate. Consider the forces that he mustered -- in a matter of minutes -- during the 2004 elections. Remember? The exit polls that showed a clear Kerry lead? Amidst the wailing and gnashing of teeth, Hugh's voice was a clarion call, unequivocally stating that no matter the reasons, the exit polls were bogus. And while many others were crowing catastrophe, he had already declared, "checkmate."

Volokh Conspiracy notes that Miers appears pro-Second Amendment... always a good sign. And Alexander McClure puts the dot on the exclamation point:

All I need to do is quote from her remarks this morning: “The wisdom of those who drafted our Constitution... have proven truly remarkable. It is the responsibility of every generation to be true to the founders’ vision of the proper role of the courts... If confirmed, I recognize that I will have a tremendous responsibility to... help ensure that the courts meet their obligation to strictly apply the law and the Constitution.” What more do you need?

Would it be trite to say, "indeed" ?