It is extraordinary how President Bush has streamlined the Senate confirmation process. As we have seen most recently with the vote to confirm Michael Mukasey as attorney general, about all that is left of “advice and consent” is the “consent” part.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Reader William Casey emails: 'I just finished reading your paper, "Taking Advice Seriously,...." and I agree with you that it is advice that should be considered. It's getting ridiculous. The Democrats pound Mukasey on waterboarding but when they had a chance in 2006 to make it illegal, they refused." As Dan Rather used to say, "Courage!"