Then he got Bush to nominate her for the Fifth Circuit.

When Mr. Bush was first elected to the White House, Mr. Rove again chose Ms. Owen, by then a justice on the Texas Supreme Court for nearly a decade, to be among the president's first appeals court candidates, administration and Congressional officials said. In doing so, the officials said, Mr. Rove had to disagree with Alberto R. Gonzales, then the White House counsel and now attorney general. Mr. Gonzales had served on the Texas Supreme Court with Justice Owen and while he liked her greatly, he had preferred another member of the court, Justice Deborah Hankinson, for the federal court seat.

We might have seen the last of her last year except for Rove's third intervention. Texas Governor Rick Perry offered her the Chief Justice slot on the Texas Supreme Court. The Times reports Karl Rove advised she turn it down so she would remain available for the federal seat on the 5th Circuit.

All this says to me is that Priscilla Owens will be confirmed one way or another. I now suspect that the Democrats will agree to an up and down vote on her and justify it on the grounds that it will avoid the nuclear option. I'd rather see the nuclear option unfold. I don't think Bill Frist has the votes.

It's looking more and more like this is all just about politics - not the good of the Senate or the Judiciary - and Karl Rove is the party in power.