Sometimes I think that the right almost would rather have grievances than victories, and that feeling is reinforced by these nominations. These gentlemen would have had trouble getting confirmed in January, 2005, but in the current environment - Democratic control of the Senate and 2008 in sight - I have a hard time imagining that they'll even get the pleasure of confirmation hearings. (Just as well for them, probably, since it's not hard to imagine the questions they'd be asked.) Unless the Bush Administration has become completely divorced from political reality, the only explanation has to be that it doesn't care if it gets to fill the empty slots on the 4th Circuit.

And that's a very strange thing to contemplate. The 4th Circuit has been the go-to court for conservatives for so long that the notion that the Administration would risk the possibility that a Democrat will get to fill empty seats and tip the balance the other way seems almost inconceivable. Yet that's exactly what seems to be happening here. It's no surprise that the Administration would not pay attention to suggestions from Webb (one of its least favorite senators) and Warner (who is a Republican, but one who has disagreed publicly with the President recently), but it's something of a shock that it wouldn't pick people for this court who have at least a shot at getting confirmed. Maybe they really do just want to be able to complain about the Democrats.