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I have been trying to decide for the last half an hour if I should post to you, and I have decided that I will. You may take it for what it is worth, or send me packing as a stupid naif.

I did not have you pegged as an elitist, Mr. Levin. But after this episode, and watching your responses here...I'm not so sure and more than a bit disappointed.

FWIW, the last straw for me when I ditched my liberal world view (shortly after leaving the warm embrace of academia and all that had to offer) was the irritating pretensions of the elitist left. I have the same disgust with the elitist right. This nomination has broken that particular rift in the GOP wide open.

I do not know what is going to happen. But I can tell you that as a solid conservative...I am NEVER going to side with elitists because they understand what it means to be "qualified."

Time will tell us if the President knew what he was doing. I was initially disappointed, but after doing a bit of research am more positive. But it will never take away my disappointment with the elitists on my side of the divide, even if I decide, in the end that you are correct.

Well, you'll do as you see fit. But elitism has nothing to do with conservatives demanding facts. That's intelligence, not elitism. That's collecting information. Any 4th grader is required to do that. Elitism is more akin to saying trust me, and little more. If you think about it, that's a very condescending and arrogant attitude. Don't demand facts, don't inform yourself, I say it's right, so it's right. I think you have this elitism thing in the wrong order. But believe as you will.

I am NEVER going to side with elitists because they understand what it means to be "qualified."

Superb post, pollyannaish. Mr. Levin (skeptic that I am, I must qualify by saying if that's really you), I agree with post #564. Above all, what I'm seeing in the response of many conservative columnists and talking heads to this nomination is a profound snobbery.

So the woman does not come from an elite Ivy League law school, and she doesn't have judicial experience on a federal appeals court. Comparatively speaking, she's a humble lawyer from Texas. Horrors!

I spent some time today reviewing short biographies of the 109 individuals who have made it onto the court since 1789. They were all lawyers, that's true. But a sizeable minority were never judges prior to going on the Supreme Court. Many had professional backgrounds roughly comparable to that of Harriet Miers. Some were elected officials, others were ambassadors or cabinet secretaries, and some -- like William Rehnquist -- were relative unknowns in private practice before their nominations. Several were either assistant U.S. attorneys general or U.S. Attorney General, a post currently filled by a former WH Counsel.

To me, it seems the main arguments against her from the conservative media elite seems to be that she isn't who they wanted for the court. She's not their pick, so she must be an awful pick. She doesn't have conservative bona fides documented in a paper trail, so some people won't get the battle royal they wanted.

Well, for months, I've been hearing a string of names from people in the elite conservative media. Yet I don't know those people. What I know about them, I learn from people like you. When all of you use your media megaphones to tell me your opinions about who should be nominated for the court, you're asking me to blindly trust you.

If I choose, instead, to trust the judgement of the President I voted for, you think me a fool. We shall see.