President Bush’s pick for Supreme Court justice might just be someone with a little something for everyone — that is, in the middle of the American political spectrum. Harriet E. Miers, a balanced individual, is a person who could bridge the great divide now gripping the nation.

Bush got his way with Supreme Court chief justice, John G. Roberts Jr. The new chief justice will probably be conservative in many of his rulings, but this is by no means guaranteed. Anyway, moderate conservatives are surely pleased with Roberts confirmation. Of course, the far right wants to load the high court’s bench with hardliners. But the American system works best on a consensual basis.

The left seems to be warming up to Miers, as evidenced by a story published in the Washington Post today. As many “liberals” are trying to relive the civil rights movement, the article’s author panders to their sentiments:

So when a black county commissioner was arrested after a physical altercation with an off-duty police officer who allegedly had spat a racial slur at him, more than 1,000 demonstrators marched on [Dallas] City Hall. Many feared violence until Harriet Miers, a first-term City Council member and local lawyer, spoke to the crowd.

“If it means anything to you, I want to apologize,” Miers said in her native Texas drawl. “I want to apologize to the African American community of this city for an unprovoked and unexcusable attack on one of their elected leaders.”

Her apology, met with applause from the crowd, played a key role in defusing the tension that November night in 1990, many here recalled. Those who knew Miers at the time said her apology that night was characteristic of her tenure — unafraid to take on controversial issues, sometimes even to her own political detriment.

Whether pandering or not, this is good information about Miers. If she can diffuse delicate political situations, what better qualification for making balanced decisions about the law of the land? But the Post points out that Miers was not pandering to any one constituency during her stint as a councilwoman:

Her campaign, votes and public stances defy easy characterization.

She would meet with abortion rights advocates and gay rights activists but tell them firmly she did not agree with them. She backed a redistricting plan aimed at electing more minorities even though conservatives called it a quota system. She voted to raise taxes two years in a row, disagreeing with some colleagues who favored deeper budget cuts.

Oh, my, she was independent. Moderate Republicans should be comfortable with Miers as she has worked closely with the president for years. And now the left has something to be happy about.

What a good opportunity for political fence-mending.

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Related: United States

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