Cronyism at its finest

That is the only way to describe George Bush's nomination for Sandra Day O'Connor's seat on the Supreme Court. Unlike everyone else currently on the Court, Harriet Miers has never been a judge. Neither has she been a legal academic, worked at the highest levels of the government, or served as a legislator - the other traditional avenues to nomination. But she has worked as George W. Bush's personal lawyer, assisted his campaign, and is a "close personal friend of the president". I guess that trumps actual qualifications or experience any day of the week - especially when several other Bush cronies - and possibly even the President himself - are in legal hot water.

Actually, there is one thing she has going for her: a complete lack of a paper trail. In recent years, judicial confirmation hearings have revolved around scrutinising previous decisions or published papers for some insight into the nominee's position on issues such as abortion or state's rights. But like Chief Justice Roberts, Miers is a virtual unknown with no past opinions hanging around to raise awkward questions. Which is I suspect the point; Bush gets to stack the court, while severely limiting the Senate's power to "advise and consent".

Just a Bump in the Beltway has some more on Miers here...