So Harriet Miers has withdrawn her candidacy under what seems to be the Krauthammer cover — a move that President Bush was telegraphing pretty strongly over the last few days by repeatedly mentioning that obtaining White House documents was an important "red line" he absolutely would not cross. That's a relief.

  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.

  The question now is who the President will pick as a replacement. It's impossible to know, of course: Who expected that Bush would select Miers? If I had to guess, though, the current political situation will push the White House to pick someone with broad and deep support on the Right who also won't cause a revolt among Democrats. To me that suggests someone like Michael McConnell or Karen Williams. (For my post making the case for McConnell, click here.)