Harriet Miers has withdrawn her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. That sound you hear is a big sigh of relief from conservatives all over America. As Michelle Malkin put it on her blog this morning:

"What a relief. Sad, pensive, what-a-waste relief. Not happy-joy-joy relief."

That's our feeling on the matter in a nutshell.

Hugh Hewitt's reaction comes off a bit whiny:

"I think Ms. Miers has been unfairly treated by many who have for years urged fair treatment of judicial nominees.

She deserves great thanks for her significant service to the country. She and the president deserved much better from his allies.

There's nothing unfair about asking legitimate questions about a nominee for the Supreme Court. Was there some rhetoric from Miers' detractors that went over the top? Sure. But a blanket condemnation of any criticism is unfair, Hugh.

Like night follows day, the Democrats immediately went into their knee-jerk name-calling mode:

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) echoed that view in a statement this morning. "The radical right wing of the Republican Party killed the Harriet Miers nomination," he said.

More reason the opinions of people like Reid should be ignored when choosing the next nominee.

But now is the time to put this whole ugly episode behind us. The president will pick a great nominee next time, conservatives will rally to support him, onward and upward.

More reaction from The Volokh Conspiracy, and a roundup from Wizbang.