Bush on Replacing O'Connor

Tonight, in prime time, the Ass-in-Chief is going to announce the nineteenth-century jurist whom he would like to see on the Supreme Court. Fine. Whatever. You don't need to be Skeptikos of Skeptipopolis to guess that the Administration has sped up the nomination process to bump the Rove scandal off the front page. But this column in the Times makes it clear that Bush is absolutely reveling in his power. Some quotes from the prez:

"I'll let you know when I'm ready to tell you about it."
"I, of course, am the person that picks the nominee, and they [Congress] get to decide whether or not the nominee gets confirmed."
"That's the way it has worked in the past. That's the way it's going to work in this administration."

And to a reporter who said that "we understand you are now close to a decision" on a nominee, Bush said, "Well, thank you for telling me where I am in the process. I appreciate that."

God. What a jerk. Clearly, the process of nominating a SCOTUS justice is playing to each and every one of his worst impulses, from snobbery and sarcasm to his near-pathological senses of superiority and grandiosity. It's not burning other kids with lit cigarettes, but it's close. And some dare wonder how we got into the war in Iraq.

The article also includes this aside:

Groping momentarily for words, Mr. Bush said he was trying for a reply "that sounds profound to you without actually answering your question."

Groping momentarily? Since 1948 or so, I think. I wonder how much of the article's tone is due to Elisabeth Bumiller, who - a story in a recent issue of Northwestern University's alumni magazine made clear - is not a big fan of W.:

Most famously Bumiller took a critical eye toward the now-notorious "Mission Accomplished" speech President Bush delivered on the USS Abraham Lincoln in May 2003... The next week Bumiller portrayed a different picture in a front-page story on the speech. She wrote: "George W. Bush's Top Gun landing on the deck of the carrier Abraham Lincoln will be remembered as one of the most audacious moments of presidential theater in American history." In the story Bumiller explored the efforts of the president's staff to positively influence the media and the public with carefully planned press events. She reported how at one event White House staff used masking tape to conceal "Made in China " imprints on boxes to promote American patriotism.

It's not legislating from the bench, but it might be editorializing from the press room. And hear, hear: it's never been more necessary.