"They dream of Supreme Court justices capable of writing brilliant opinions that will reshape the battle of ideas."

And Harriet Miers is so vapid, so pedestrian. David Brooks writes of the pain this nomination has caused conservatives -- conservatives, as opposed to Republicans. Conservatives are those people who think that ideas matter.

Republicans, who these days are as likely to be members of the corporate establishment as the evangelical establishment, are more suspicious of intellectuals and ideas, and more likely to believe that politics is about deal-making, loyalty and power.

It's been interesting to watch the struggle between these two groups. Quite fun spectating for liberals and Democrats, isn't it?

(Sorry for the TimesSelect link. I presume Brooks is too.)