The obvious answer to this is of course that Bush wanted a very close ally and fan on the Supreme Court, who would be there arguably for the next 20 years. Although there were other candidates that his conservative base would have approved slightly more, the US President's hubris led him to appoint someone who sailed close to the wind, to push the boat as it were.
Perhaps, as some conspiracy theorists are now floating, Miers' appointment was just a huge media smokescreen, designed by the Bush White House to draw press attention away from the rather more damaging scandal involving the Vice President's Chief of Staff and his imminent indictment at the hands of Special Prosecutor, Patrick J. Fitzgerald.
To quote the Times yesterday:
Should Mr. Fitzgerald not wrap up the investigation into Mr. Rove soon, it would at a minimum divert news media attention from Mr. Bush's effort to highlight his agenda.
The media believes that these stories divert attention away from other matters, and going on the evidence of this rather opiniated Times reporting, it is thus a self-fulfilling prophecy on the part of the press.
Christie Rizk @ October 31, 2005 - 10:19am
If an appointment to the Supreme Court was not for life, I would agree with you. As it stands, Harriet Miers would have had plenty of opportunity to do a lot of damage to the country as a Supreme Court judge. So as far as her nomination taking time away from the "real news," that's highly debatable. As for Fitzgerald and the grand jury, if Cheney is indicted, or if there's even a hint that he could be in trouble, nothing short of the Apocalypse could turn the media's attention away from it. Libby's indictment was expected and he's seen as the sort of sacrificial lamb. It's a bunch of theatrics.
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