had ever met and says he was the "best Governor ever." She also stated that "serving President Bush and Mrs. Bush is an impossible-to-describe privilege" and noted that Bush's personal qualities "make a brighter future for our nation and people all around the world possible." Miers's last public speech before her nomination was given to the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce on June 2, 2005. Supreme Court nomination and withdrawal On July 1, 2005, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her intention to retire upon the confirmation of a successor. Bush appointed Miers as head of the search committee for candidates. On July 19, Bush nominated John Roberts to replace O'Connor. However, several weeks later, Chief Justice William Rehnquist died of thyroid cancer. Bush then withdrew Roberts from consideration as O'Connor's replacement, instead nominating Roberts to fill the Chief Justice vacancy. The Senate confirmed Roberts on September 29. Meanwhile, Bush considered nominating Miers as O'Connor's successor, factoring into account bipartisan suggestions by Senators Arlen Specter and Patrick Leahy, that the nominee should come from outside the appellate court system. This caused several commentators to draw parallels with the 2000 election, when Dick Cheney, the head of Bush's vice-presidential search committee, was ultimately selected as the running mate. On October 3, 2005, Bush nominated Miers to serve as an associate justice of the Supreme Court, saying, "Harriet Miers will be the type of judge I said I would nominate: a good conservative judge." Miers's nomination was criticized by people of various political views for the fact that she had never served as a judge at any level, her perceived lack of intellectual rigor, her close personal ties to Bush, and her lack of a clear record on issues likely to be encountered as a Supreme Court Justice. Many notable conservatives vigorously criticized her nomination, and numerous conservative groups normally considered part of Bush's political base planned to mount an organized opposition campaign. Miers met with the Senate Judiciary Committee after her nomination and in those meetings she was ill-prepared and uninformed on the law. Senator Tom Coburn told her privately that she "flunked" and "[was] going to have to say something next time." Miers had difficulty expressing her views and explaining basic constitutional law concepts. Miers had no experience in constitutional law and did not have extensive litigation experience; at her Texas law firm, she had been more of a