Demagogue

When the President of the United States nominates an underqualified crony to the Supreme Court, who deserves the blame?

If you are a right-wing loon, I guess the answer is "the underqualified crony"

Mark Smith, vice president of the New York chapter of the Federalist Society, who attended the Roberts swearing-in at the White House just last month, said Miers does not even deserve hearings. "If Miss Miers were truly a conservative, she would withdraw her nomination," he said. It is "certainly harming the Republican Party and the conservative movement," and she should pull out "if for no other reason than the good of the cause."

What "cause" is that? The one that has been savaging her for the last three weeks?

Others, such as the National Review, also seem to think that Miers ought to fall on her sword to protect President Bush

Some conservatives have called on the president to withdraw her nomination, and a few have urged senators to vote against her. If the president withdrew the nomination, we believe that he would seek a replacement who could unite conservatives — as he no doubt expected Miers to unite them. But that nominee would be tarnished, perhaps fatally, by the suspicion that the president was forced to pander to the Right. The president, moreover, surely does not want to risk looking less than strong and steadfast. The prudent course is for Miers to withdraw her own nomination in the interests of the president she loyally serves. The president could then start over.

Hell, Peggy Noonan even goes so far as to call on Miers to take a figurative bullet for him

He was the Secret Service agent who stood like Stonewall and took the bullet for Ronald Reagan outside the Washington Hilton. Harriet Miers can withdraw her name, take the hit, and let the president's protectors throw him in the car. Her toughness and professionalism would appear wholly admirable. She'd not just survive; she'd flourish, going from much-spoofed office wife to world-famous lawyer and world-class friend. Added side benefit: Her nobility makes her attackers look bad. She's better than they, more loyal and serious. An excellent moment of sacrifice and revenge

Wasn't one of Bush's pledges to usher in an "era of personal responsibility"? Maybe his supporters ought to ... you know ... start holding him responsible for his mistakes.

It is the only way he'll learn.