Bush Nominates "Pit Bull in Size 6 Shoes" to High Court. Will Lady McGruff Pass Senate Smell Test?
From Newsday:
[Harriet] Miers, who has never been a judge, was the first woman to serve as president of the Texas State Bar and the Dallas Bar Association.
Without a judicial record, it's difficult to know whether Miers would dramatically move the court to the right. She would fill the shoes of O'Connor, a swing voter on the court for years who has cast deciding votes on some affirmative action, abortion and death penalty cases.
Known for thoroughness and her low-profile, Miers is one of the first staff members to arrive at the White House in the morning and among the last to leave.
When Bush named her White House counsel in November 2004, the president described Miers as a lawyer with keen judgment and discerning intellect -- "a trusted adviser on whom I have long relied for straightforward advice."
He also joked of Miers, "When it comes to a cross-examination, she can filet better than Mrs. Paul."
I know nothing about Miers but I have eaten too many fish sticks in my life. And it seems to that comparing her to a ground-fish miester opens her up to a lot of criticism right out of the gate (note to traditionalists: What does Mr. Paul do for a living?). That--and her lack of bench experience--opens her up to a lot of criticism out the gate. Libs/Dems will harp on the latter point of course. But cons/Reps might worry about a someone who is reportedly "not strong pro-lifer."
More here.
Last week, Reason's Jeff Taylor wrote that a Miers' nomination would suggest "a White House nod to factions who loathe the federal judiciary in general and would love nothing more than a non-judge justice on the highest court in the land." He further wrote, "a non-judge seems a mighty reach for Bush."
We'll see, whether we want to or not.
In the meantime, here's some 411 on the woman once described by Bush as "a pit bull in size 6 shoes." Assuming she's tough on crime, let's call her Lady McGruff.
