The fact is, Judge Alito became President Bush's candidate to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor only after the radical right-wing torpedoed the nomination of White House Counsel Harriet Miers and insisted that someone with Sam Alito's ideology be put forward in her place. That is how Judge Alito "got here."

I continue to believe that Harriet Miers received a raw deal. She is an accomplished lawyer, a trailblazer for women and a strong advocate of legal services for the poor. Not only was she denied the up-down vote that my Republican colleagues say every nominee deserves, but she was never even afforded the chance to make her case to the Judiciary Committee.

I believe that radical elements in the President's own party demanded that Miers withdraw not because of her lack of judicial experience as some claimed, but because they were insufficiently confident she would support their extreme agenda. The right wing's distrust of Harriet Miers, and their immediate elation when Judge Alito was named, raised my suspicions on the day he was nominated.