{"product_id":"the-nominee-a-political-and-spiritual-journey-willie-morris-books-in-memoir-and-biography","title":"The Nominee: A Political and Spiritual Journey (Willie Morris Books in Memoir and Biography)","description":"\u003cp\u003ePresident George W. Bush nominated Leslie H. Southwick in 2007 to the federal appeals court  Fifth Circuit  based in New Orleans. Initially  Southwick seemed a consensus nominee. Just days before his hearing  though  a progressive advocacy group distributed the results of research it had conducted on opinions of the state court on which he had served for twelve years. Two opinions Southwick had signed off on but not written became the center of the debate over the next five months. One dealt with a racial slur by a state worker  the other with a child custody battle between a father and a bisexual mother. Apparent bipartisan agreement for a quick confirmation turned into a long set of battles in the Judiciary Committee  on the floor of the Senate  and in the media.  In early August  Senator Dianne Feinstein completely surprised her committee colleagues by supporting Southwick. Hers was the one Democratic vote needed to move the nomination to the full Senate. Then in late October  by a two-vote margin  he received the votes needed to end a filibuster. Confirmation followed.  Southwick recounts the four years he spent at the Department of Justice  the twelve years on a state court  and his military service in Iraq while deployed with a Mississippi National Guard Brigade. During the nomination inferno Southwick maintained a diary of the many events  the conversations and emails  the joys and despairs  and quite often  the prayers and sense of peace his faith gave him--his memoir bears significant spiritual content. Throughout the struggle  Southwick learned that perspective and growth are important to all of us when making decisions  and he grew to accept his critics  regardless of the outcome. In The Nominee there is no rancor  and instead the book expresses the understanding that the difficult road to success was the most helpful one for him  both as a man and as a judge.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44959837749301,"sku":"ByrdShop_1617039128","price":25.81,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781617039126.jpg?v=1770375616","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-nominee-a-political-and-spiritual-journey-willie-morris-books-in-memoir-and-biography","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}