Miers withdraws nomination for high court

President Bush "reluctantly" accepted the withdrawal of Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers Thursday, according to Associated Press reports. The White House said Miers withdrew because of senators' demands to see internal documents related to her role as counsel to the president. \n"It is clear that senators would not be satisfied until they gained access to internal documents concerning advice provided during her tenure at the White House -- disclosures that would undermine a president's ability to receive candid counsel," Bush said in a statement from the White House Web site.\nPolitics played a larger role, however, as Miers came under fire from conservatives and liberals alike, according to Associated Press reports. Republicans control 55 of the 100 they were surprised at the withdrawal and thought it was due largely to pressure from both sides of the political spectrum. Bush has promised to quickly nominate his third Supreme Court pick in seven weeks, which could be the beginning of a nasty political fight, professors said.\n"I guess I was surprised because there had not been a lot of rumors, as there often are in these situations, about her withdrawal," said IU law professor Joseph Hoffmann. "This leads me to believe it was her own personal decision, rather than the administration's."\nIU law professor Charles Geyh said he was also surprised by the withdrawal. \n"President Bush has stuck by his nominations for various offices, so I was surprised," he said. "The problem with the nomination was primarily with Bush's political base."\nQuestions from conservatives about Miers' commitment to ideals and accusations of cronyism and a lack of qualifications by Democrats probably contributed heavily to her decision to withdraw, both professors said.\n"There's no doubt the nomination was in trouble. If I were in that position, it would make sense to think seriously about withdrawing," Hoffman said. "There was definitely the possibility of being dragged through some pretty ugly confirmation hearings."\nBush has said he wants to nominate a woman to Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's post, so U.S. Court of Appeals Judges Edith Jones, Priscilla Owen or Janice Rogers Brown could be possibilities, Geyh said. Emilio Garza, a Hispanic U.S. Court of Appeals judge, is another plausible choice for the position, but the president might surprise everyone with his next nomination, he added.\n"He might say to hell with all of you and choose a luminary white male," Geyh said. "It's safe to say that there's now a risk of all hell breaking loose. He's being pressured to appoint an ideological conservative, which could cause the Democrats to start a brouhaha."\nHoffmann agreed, saying Bush has two options to get his third nomination through the Senate -- an ideologically conservative candidate or a candidate who is relatively uncommitted but has better qualifications than Miers. \n"Either way, you're going to blunt one part of the opposition that came out against Miers," he said. "(Bush) has to jump either one way or the other. I hope the president will give us someone with ramped up qualifications, not ideology"