Curious choice

The only thing I can make out regarding Bush's choice for SCOTUS is that he's a creature of Washington, with friends on both sides of the aisle, and no obvious paper trail (the brief he wrote while working in the DOJ that called Roe v Wade into question probably won't hurt him since he was speaking for the administration, not himself), and so fairly likely to be confirmed without too much bitterness. He keeps the red meaters happy because he's a member in good standing of the Republican establishment and is a Federalist party member, and he doesn't scare the Dems too much, either.

The choice, and the timing, shows just how much damage Rovegate is having on the White House. Change the channel. Quick. It's also a little shocking. When cornered, the Cheney administration usually lashes out, so I expected a much more partisan choice. Are they getting soft?