Lame duck, my foot

What does it mean to call Bush a "lame duck" when he continues to get everything he wants? Today, the senate confirmed Brett Kavanaugh, definitely one of Bush's less stellar nominees, to the federal appeals bench.

Confirmed on a 57-36 vote, Kavanaugh had been warmly praised by Republicans but widely opposed by Democrats who had briefly threatened to filibuster his nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Democratic critics said the 41-year-old White House staff secretary's record spoke of loyalty to Bush but was thin on courtroom experience.

"Mr. Kavanaugh is a political operative," said Sen. Edward Kennedy (news, bio, voting record), D-Mass., a member of the Judiciary Committee. "I can say with confidence that Mr. Kavanaugh would be the youngest, least experienced and most partisan appointee to the court in decades."

The confirmation represented a victory for Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a possible 2008 presidential candidate, whose efforts to fill more federal court seats with Bush's nominees have been bedeviled by Democratic objections. Five weeks ago he informed the Senate that he expected Kavanaugh to be confirmed by Memorial Day.

With the exception of immigration reform, congress is as deferential to Bush at 36 percent approval as they were at 66 percent. Maybe the myth about his indifference to polls is actually true. With results like these, why should he care if the American people hate his guts? Apparently, our elected representatives will keep rolling over for him, no matter what.