Release date: Oct. 19, 2005
Contact: Beverly Cox Clark at 404-712-8780 or beverly.clark@emory.edu

Miers Adds to Bush's Troubles, and Encourages Dems

President George W. Bush and U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings meet with reporters, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2005 in the Oval Office at the White House to discuss the Nation's Report Card. White House photo by Eric Draper

Harriet Miers' troubled Supreme Court nomination – the latest in a series of setbacks for the Bush administration – should give Democrats some encouragement for success in the upcoming mid-term elections in 2006, says Emory University political scientist Alan Abramowitz.

Miers has split conservatives on whether or not to trust the President's choice, and recent revelations about her views on abortion aren't bringing in support from Democrats, Abramowitz says. "She has very uncertain prospects in getting confirmed. Her performance during the hearing next month will be very significant and quite different from Roberts, and it would not be surprising if her nomination is pulled because of the political costs," he says.

The unexpected divisiveness of the Supreme Court nomination, combined with ongoing concerns about the economy, indictments of top Republican officials and the war in Iraq, don’t bode well for Republicans, especially in light of President Bush's low polling numbers, he says.

Less than half of Americans approve of President Bush's performance – which is especially low for a reelected president this early in a second term, says Abramowitz, an expert on national elections. When a president's approval rating is below 50 percent – and President Bush is polling at about 40 percent – the president's party has tended to lose a significant number of seats in Congress, he says.

Abramowitz may be contacted at 404-727-0108 or alan.abramowitz@emory.edu

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