NYT, LAT edit pages criticize WH for not pushing Dawn Johnsen confirmation

Two good editorials today.

NYT:

It was clear that the White House was not going to fight to save her from Republicans who were refusing to allow a vote on her confirmation.
...
The White House let Ms. Johnsen twist in the wind for more than a year and then chose to abandon her nomination rather than get into a battle over an appointment just before Mr. Obama makes his second nomination to the Supreme Court.

The LAT is even more forceful:

Dawn Johnsen, who withdrew last week as President Obama's nominee to head the Office of Legal Counsel, has a legitimate grievance against her fair-weather sponsors in the White House.

... Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) never rallied forcefully to her defense, instead allowing themselves to be intimidated by Republican (and some Democratic) opposition.

The administration's unwillingness to fight back against efforts to portray Johnsen as "outside the mainstream" is not just a shame for her and the office; it augurs ominously for nominees who may be similarly smeared -- including Goodwin Liu, the Berkeley law professor Obama has nominated to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, as well as the yet-to-be-named nominee to replace Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.

Update: Even the WaPo edit page is now upset with the White House on this one.