From NewsMax:
Bill Kristol, executive editor of The Weekly Standard and a vocal critic of the Oct. 3 nomination of Harriet Miers to the U.S. Supreme Court, said he was "relieved" at the news of Miers withdrawal Thursday and confident that the next pick will be "a winner" for President Bush, the Supreme Court and America.
"Miers' nomination had become a burden for the president," Kristol told Fox News. "She did not have an articulated conservative judicial philosophy. Although Bush felt very loyal to her, he and his advisers apparently miscalculated with this nomination."
Kristol said the time is ripe to get the administration back on track and put this botched nomination behind it.
"This is the moment to go on the offensive," Kristol said. "The next nominee should be a strong conservative with impeccable qualifications, a strict constructionist with a verifiable record."
From Rush Limbaugh:
People have been speculating if somebody high up like a Rove or a Libby, whoever is indicted, what should Bush do? I have the answer, but that answer is derived from putting myself in Bush's shoes. See, I would be livid. I would be livid no matter what I've said about the dignified way the investigation has taken place. I would be livid and I'd say: Okay, you're going to try to get my guys outta here? You obviously think these guys have been making all the decisions, fine. Here. You're going to get what you want. Every decision from now on out is mine, and here's what I'm going to do.
First thing I'm going to do is pull Harriet Miers, and I'm going to give the most conservative nominee to the Supreme Court I can, and it's going to be Michael Luttig; it's going to be Janice Rogers Brown. I don't care. It's going to somebody you people are going to hate, and I'm going to fight, and I'm going to get this person confirmed. Next thing I'm going to do is bomb Syria. I'm through messing around with the war on terror. Now we've got the Iranians, and they're sitting there saying Israel needs to be "wiped off the map." Nothing's changed. I'm going to take care of them, too. I'm going to create so many damn news stories for you people in the media that you won't know what cover first, and I'm going to make so many damn much bigger news stories than this stupid CIA story that I'm going to have you people spinning for the last two years of my administration, because the last two years of my administration I'm making the decisions and I'm going to make sure everything I want happens, and I'm going to stop trying to send out this little hand of friendship with you people. I've tried working with you, and I've found out that it can't be done, so barrels are going to be loaded and aimed right at you, and we're going to be pedal-to-the-metal conservative through and through, and this is what I'm going to give you, and if you don't like it then go try to put me in jail next time.
I would flood the media with so many stories, they wouldn't know what to cover -- stories that they hated, actions that they despised! I'd rewrite the education bill. I'd put a stop on this illegal immigration. I would do all of these things. I would have real budget cuts -- and I mean cuts. I would propose them and I'd bring the Republicans up to the White House and say, "Okay, you cowards, we're going to stand together now. They're trying to take us out, and here's what we're going to do. We got two years, and we're going to reshape this country like we've been trying to do for the previous six, and here's how we're going to do it, A, B, C, D and E."
"But what about the press?"
"Screw the press! I don't care about the press. I care about the people of this country. This is what I'm going to do." Bam! "Get started! I want reports on my desk tomorrow morning. Tell me how you're doing -- and if I'm not satisfied, I'll get somebody else to do it. They don't think I'm making my own decisions? Fine. Every decision from this point on is mine personally." That's what I would do. I would get in there, and I'd bring Big Oil in and say, "What can we do to help you out? We've got people trying to put you out of business, what can we do to help you out and get supply up and price down? What can I do to help you out?"
The media would say, "What do you mean? You are Big Oil? That's why you went to Iraq."
I'd make 'em all have heart attacks with apoplexy. I'd just send them like lemmings running over the cliff not knowing which story to cover first. I'd have them calling Judy Miller, "Judy, what should we do? You're tight with these people, what should we do? Which story is more important here?" Meanwhile, all they do is follow this investigation to see if Rove and Libby are going to go to jail.
That's what I would do.
