Why Miers? It may be simpler than you think.

The dismay on the right over the Miers selection to the SCOTUS, which I philosophically share, may be a bit more histrionic than necessary in light of one logical scenario.

Suppose Bush's issue in getting a true "movement conservative" justice confirmed is not that a Democrat filibuster would block a vote. Suppose that the Senatitis sufferers (that word is a tribute to the Dr. Johnson of our day, James Lileks) who actually wish to dictate the selection are Specter, Snowe (who voted against Rogers-Brown and made a speech criticizing her opposition to abortion as the primary reason), Collins, Voinovich, Warner, et al? Suppose that when Bush consulted the Senate regarding this nomination he discovered that his own party was likely to betray him, because of the truism- there are liberal Republicans, but when it comes time for a party-line vote, there is no such thing as a conservative Democrat now that Zell has retired.

Therefore, he did the only thing he could do to still meet the objectives- selected a stealth candidate who only he knew, but also knew he could trust on the key issues.

By the way, regarding age and prospective longevity on the Court, remember that Miers' mother is 93. She could still stay there for 20 years.