Publication

After Harriet Miers withdrew her candidacy for the US Supreme Court, President Bush nominated Samuel Alito, who, unlike Miers, is supported by the conservative Republican "base." While Bush was able to successfully maneuver his first Supreme Court nominee, John Roberts, through the Senate, as the successor to the deceased conservative Chief Justice Rehnquist, the succession of the outgoing Justice Sandra Day O’Connor has proven to be much more difficult because Samuel Alito, the current nominee, could fundamentally change the balance of power on the nine-member court, not least with respect to the politically-tricky abortion issue.