by TChris

Commentary on the president’s decision to elevate his White House Counsel to a Supreme Court seat begins to fill the web. Lyle Denniston argues that Harriet Miers “will have the burden of proving that she is qualified to join the Court and was not chosen on the basis of cronyism. That could pose a serious challenge.” Joel Achenbach explains why Miers is qualified for the job:

1. She's a lawyer.

2. She's tight with Dubya.

3. She works just a few feet from Bush and thus saved him from the hassle of a protracted search.

4. She has never been a judge and thus has no record that might generate problems in a confirmation hearing.

David Bernstein at The Volokh Conspiracy agrees that Miers is a "well-connected insider" who is likely to favor executive power (at least for this chief executive) over the other branches of government, but also notes that the nomination may be opposed by members of the president's base because Miers lacks the anti-abortion track record they thought they'd been promised. And Prof. Doug Berman laments Miers’ lack of background in criminal law and sentencing issues.