Let's be real: at that level, you don't just move someone up to appellate court, then to USSC in two months. It wasn't going to happen. Brown is tremendously qualified, . . . and I won't be surprised if a year from now she ends up being a nominee if there is a vacancy. But this was just too soon.
I read recently that David Souter had spent the same amount of time on the Appellate Court.