Why Miers?

I haven't quite figured the decision out just yet. On the surface at least, it gives the Democrats the chance to look civil and bipartisan because they can support someone who the right doesn't care for, and yet was nominated by a Republican President. The right is tearing itself apart at the moment over Miers. Many Christian Conservatives seem to be willing to give Bush a pass on Miers since we've been assured that she's a good conservative Christian. How that became a standard for the Supreme Court is beyond me, but it's no more disingenuous than the Democrats insistence that religious belief should negate someone from the right to a position.

But the non-Christian right (and I don't mean those who aren't Christians, but those who define themselves as rightist predominantly for other reasons) is up in arms and believes that this is simply the last sell-out of a fake conservative President. Just read Ann Coulter to find the general line being argued by many conservatives. These conservatives argue that Miers is a slap in the face to true conservative doctrine because it appears that she got the job for one of two unacceptable reasons. 1)She's being rewarded for her support of the President. I don't have a problem with rewarding those who are loyal to you, but the SCOTUS seems like a wee bit of a high honor for someone who might not be entirely qualified. 2)To fill a quota. They said the nominee would be either a female or minority. That's not a bad idea. There are a lot of qualified women and minorities that could sit on the bench. We need a SCOTUS that is representative of our land. But one has to wonder if Miers is really the most qualified. Frankly, she doesn't seem to be. Her career is not distinguished, particularly compared to some of the other candidates that were up for consideration.

I believe that Roberts was a solid choice, although I was disappointed that he was nominated for the head position. The President should have continued with plans to have Roberts fill O'Conner's seat, replacing a moderate with a conservative. Then he could have placed a second conservative on the court. Instead, he gave the Democrats the easy way out both times. One does have to wonder what is going on at the White House.

Has the President simply decided that he owes the base no more nods and has decided instead to work on his "legacy," trying to end as a moderate? Or does he know something that we don't? Does he know that Miers will sit on the SCOTUS as a rock-hard conservative? Or does he know that some other member of the court is going to retire soon? Could he be putting a middle ground candidate up in preparation for a much more conservative candidate if another judge retires? We certainly don't know. And that's become the unfortunate hallmark of this administration, that we tend to not know what is coming around the corner, and we're continually told "Trust me." But how many times can you reasonably be asked to trust a politician?