I had a dream last night . . .

. . . well, you're going to hear about it anyway.

I dreamt that this boy that I knew from growing up, who is now White House Communications Director (which is true), was on Rush Limbaugh (which I haven't listened to in years), and I had called in (from Canada?!?!) and, after telling him how proud everyone was of him working for the President in the White House, laid into him for the Miers appointment. He had some good rebuttals; we went back and forth, but it basically came down like this editorial in the WSJ today:

Cronyism: Alexander Hamilton wouldn't approve of Justice Harriet Miers

I said something basically like this in my dream (while, I think, floating and tying blue ribbons in my hair . . .), which I think gets to the nub of why so many conservatives are so angry: We just expect better behavior.

Imagine the reaction of Republicans if President Clinton had nominated Deputy White House Counsel Cheryl Mills, who had ably represented him during his impeachment proceedings, to the Supreme Court. How about Bernie Nussbaum?

Absolutely. Now, it's important to add, and I did in my dream, that it's nothing against Miss Miers that the base doesn't think she's all that and a bag of chips for a Supreme Court appointment. As Professor Barnett puts it,

By characterizing this appointment as cronyism, I mean to cast no aspersions on Ms. Miers. I imagine she is an intelligent and able lawyer. To hold down the spot of White House counsel she must be that and more. She must also be personally loyal to the president and an effective bureaucratic infighter, two attributes that are not on the top of the list of qualifications for the Supreme Court.

"The base" just really expected a good, strong jurist, and instead we got a lawyer who, while not doubt qualified and able as an attorney . . . well, I'll give Professor Barnett the last word.

Given her lack of experience, does anyone doubt that Ms. Miers's only qualification to be a Supreme Court justice is her close connection to the president? Would the president have ever picked her if she had not been his lawyer, his close confidante, and his adviser?