Supreme Court Nominee Harriet Miers Withdraws

Not a big surprise considering the amount of consternation, concern, and anger fostered by her nomination by President Bush. It will be interesting to see how he follows up.

My guess? Michael Luttig or someone of that caliber. I don't think it will be someone from within the Department of Justice or White House itself. Too many potential problems with recusals. The Volokh Conspiracy has more. Apparently Bush reluctantly accepted the withdrawal.

UPDATE:
Mary Katherine Ham at Wizbang has more coverage. She provides a roundup of soundbites from across the political spectrum, and Harry Reid's comments are especially interesting. He seems to think that Miers' nomination failed because of pressure from the far right wing. That may well be true, but so what? It's not like the far Left wing hasn't sought to pack courts around the country with like minded judges and whined when they didn't get their way.

It's called politics, and in this case, President Bush lost contact with one of his core constituencies. The next nomination will likely reengage those constituencies, and sincerely and truly annoy the lefties. I think the President will relish that battle far more than the one he got over Miers. After all, it's the kind of fight that will unify his backers rather than divide his backers as the opposition salivates over picking off the scraps.

UPDATE:
Orin Kerr of the Volokh Conspiracy thinks that the system worked as it should:

My immediate reaction is that the system worked. Harriet Miers is by all accounts a good person and a solid lawyer, but wasn't particularly well-suited for the unique environment of the Supreme Court. As I noted last week, I think the tipping point was sometime last Thusday or Friday, when it became clear on the Hill that Miers just wasn't going to be able to deliver the kind of performance at her hearings that she needed to deliver to get confirmed.

That may be the case, but the proof will be whether Bush nominates someone whose credentials are sterling and can withstand the rigors of running the gauntlet.

Seeing the humor in the situation are Point Five and Scrappleface. Llama Butchers may have a funny name, but they're working the crazy genius angle in Miers pick that keeps everyone off base, including allies to the President.

UPDATE:
Here are still more people commenting on the Miers nomination:

Blogs for Bush: The White House Of The Blogosphere posted Miers Withdraws

bRight & Early chimes in with What Now?

California Conservative posts The Miers’ Withdrawal: Reactions From The Blogosphere

Decision '08 posts Miers Withdraws!

Donkey Stomp posts Miers Withdraws

Don Surber sends up Miers Withdraws. Happy?

Gop and the City spoofs with Icy Hot Judgaz Member Withdraws Nomination

NIF chimes in with Another day in the neighborhood

North Canton Airline and Storm Door Company chimes in with Miers takes a miss, Senatorial Deathmatch Coming Soon to a new Season on Fox!

Oblogatory Anecdotes chimes in with Lessons Learned From The Miers Debacle!

Outside The Beltway chimes in with Harriet Miers Withdraws from Supreme Court Fight

Pajama Pundits chimes in with Miers Withdraws

RandyThomas.info chimes in with Genevieve Wood on Harriet Miers

Right Thoughts posted Buh-bye now.

Sortapundit chimes in with Start Talking About Facial Hair and Meat! Now!

The Unalienable Right posts Harriet Miers withdraws, Democrats call people names, situation normal

Stop The ACLU posted Miers Withdraws

Weapons of Mass Destruction posted Miers Takes The Hint

UPDATE 10/28:
Stop the ACLU provides another roundup of the Miers withdrawal. Discarded Lies was none too thrilled about how this went down. And that's putting it mildly.