I went a few days without commenting on Harriet Miers' nomination to the Supreme Court. During that time, I avoided reading much on the topic, instead skimming an article here and a post there. To a certain extent, I unplugged from the Miers news cycle. Here's where my self imposed "cool down" period got me.
I'm no longer angry. I'm now disappointed and squeamish. My gut is screaming at me that, contrary to conventional wisdom, Miers is going to be to the left of Sandra Day O'Conner. My political sense tells me that this choice has caused a deep cut on the Republican party that will heal, but for which a hard scar will remain. Former easy allies within the party faithful will now have standing distrust of one another. Some blame the supporters. Some blame the opponents. Some blame Bush. It doesn't matter anymore who you blame. This choice has brought us to this reality. The question is where will our President lead us from here? So I wait. To me, George W. Bush's legacy depends partly on whether he can lead a government capable of keeping us safe from terrorists. The other part of his legacy depends upon where he tries to lead us domestically from this point right now. I watch, willing to be led, but without any confidence that I will be.
The President may be disappointed in the perceived disloyalty of messages like this (not that he has any clue of my existence), but it is his job to inspire those like me, to instill our confidence in him, and to lead us. It is not my job to follow blindly. I sit and wait, Mr. President. Where now?
No comments:
Post a Comment