:-)
I'm not.
I think Bush's Christian beliefs are deeply held and he would not betray them just to avoid a Senate fight. I think he believes he knows what makes her tick and sees in her someone with core values like his own.
I have no doubt nor reservations concerning his Christian beliefs nor his allegiance to them. I also believe that though by necessity he had to take politics into consideration, he picked her according to his promise to nominate someone who would interpret and rule on the law . . . not legislate from the bench.
There lies the unknown . . .
Ponder this quote from a Dallas Morning New story published in July 1991:
"In my judgment, part of her achievements are attributable to her not being a feminist," says Morris Harrell, dean of Dallas trial lawyers and also a partner in Locke Purnell. Then he pauses to reconsider: "Hell, maybe she is a feminist. I don't know."
Apparently, even the people who knew her didn't know her. From the same story: Over time, she also has developed a lawyerly caginess that enables her to play her cards -- personal, political and professional -- very close to the vest. She weighs her words judiciously, seldom allowing an incautious phrase to escape. "People who see Harriet as a litigator don't see her tender, personal side," says Nathan Hecht, a Texas Supreme Court judge and a close friend. "And family and friends don't see her going into the courtroom to duke it out." The vast difference in perception is most marked when Ms. Miers' council career is the subject. "I know her less today than I did the day after she was elected (in 1989)," says Jerry Bartos, a City Council colleague who frequently has been Ms. Miers' opponent. "I'd say she is the consummate loner." "She's independent. She's a thinker, not a clone," counters council member Al Lipscomb, who also has had run-ins with Ms. Miers. "She's a very independent thinker," echoes Mayor Annette Strauss. But, in acknowledging Ms. Miers' "loner" status, the mayor gives a Zen-like answer: "It is difficult -- because the right answer is not right for everybody." For Harriet Miers in particular, two years in political office seemed to hold few right answers. She regards her council service, as she does most things in life, as an educational experience. But she admits it's been frustrating. "The most disappointing aspect about being in public office has been observing the impact of politics," she says. "You see decisions that are more political than what I might view as the right result." Ms. Miers, 45, gives the impression she might have been happier if the City Council had worked more like a courtroom. She is most comfortable within the legal system, within its codified precedents and presentations of fact-based logic. But on Dallas' City Council there were, as she puts it, "Eleven different people with 11 different agendas." Personalities clashed, and questions of fact and logic often surrendered to raw emotion and ego. As an at-large representative, Ms. Miers says, "I'm committed to make decisions based on the facts of the particular issue, and what I believe is in the best interest of the city." She pauses, firmly setting her small, square jaw: "Not one part of the city, but the entire city." "When she said she was running to represent all of Dallas, she meant it," says Judge Hecht. "She took the job, viewing the people of Dallas as her client, and she tried to represent them all." To some, however, she seemed to play the role of devil's advocate. "There was no communication, no coalition," Mr. Bartos says, citing Ms. Miers' coolness toward fellow council members. "In politics, you have to build coalitions, and you have to communicate." His blunt assessment of her effectiveness on the council: "Zero." Mr. Lipscomb says, more diplomatically, that Ms. Miers' "toughness might have repulsed some of the men" on City Council. "She picks up on details. Nothing gets past her," he says. "She's not a person that you can predict -- but that is her right." Ms. Miers has a reputation for studying issues carefully before she votes. But she has switched her stance on some crucial issues, and council insiders perceived her moves as indecisiveness. Such key votes included the city's stand on the Wright amendment; the public-housing desegregation lawsuit settlement; and Dallas' recent, bitter redistricting battles. Two months ago, Ms. Miers publicly criticized the fact that council members fought to preserve their districts under the 14-1 plan. Her attitude, while idealistic, struck some observers as a bit naive. Says Mr. Lipscomb: "That is a political reality in all redistricting. The incumbents always try to protect themselves." Ms. Miers reviews her own council term in typically dispassionate fashion. "I'd like to say I'm not doctrinaire," she says. "I'm not going to be influenced by how my vote is perceived. "I want to be respected, and I want to be viewed as being true to my convictions," she adds, her flat Texas drawl turning steely. "But I don't much care what people think. I can't afford to."
Is this the same guy (Hecht) who was mentioned as her minister on this thread?