(2005-10-11) — Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter, R-PA, announced today he will delay confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers until he can locate some Senators who are intellectually qualified to question her on the finer points of Constitutional law.

“Most of us in the Senate used to be lawyers,” said Sen. Specter, “and you can’t expect a simple ambulance chaser to understand the kind of weighty issues that come before the Supreme Court.”

The chairman noted that Senators not only “lack the intellectual heft” to comprehend Constitutional law and formulate questions about it, but many of them became lawmakers through “what amounts to a popularity contest.”

“The average senator holds his seat thanks to personal wealth, political cronyism and the ability to perform for the camera,” Sen. Specter said. “Those are hardly qualifications for scrutinizing a potential Supreme Court justice about the various theories related to original intent.”

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the president encouraged Sen. Specter to proceed with the hearings anyway.

“As you know,” Mr. McClellan said, “you go into confirmation hearings with the Senate you have, They’re not the Senate you might want or wish to have at a later time.”

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