I'm sure Ms. Miers is a fine woman, hard working and decent lawyer. If her nomination was to a lower court that would be fine. Her nomination to the Supreme Court is like a little league baseball player being elected to the MLB Hall of Fame without any high school, college, minor or major league baseball experience.
Here's the deal -- if I'm in a spot where I have to choose someone for something so important that it must be right, 100%, then I am not going to pour through resumes looking for the most qualified candidate. For example, if I'm in a spot where I need someone who knows about electrical engineering, I'm not going to go through the resumes of all the MIT grads if it's critically important. The person I'm going to call is one of my friends from college. Why? Because I know that when things are deadly serious she isn't going to tell me sweet stories of kitties purring and angels singing. She's going to give it to me straight. I can trust her to do the right thing. I suspect Bush is in the same spot. He can trust Miers to be a strict constructionist. Looking for a strict constructionist solely by going through judicial records and people's qualifications is how we ended up with Souter.
Sort of along the same vein...I'd like to see less career politicians/lawyers in politics.
FWIW-
I think your analogy is incorrect. SCOTUS is the major leagues, not the hall. To be inducted, one must have retired from playing.
The little leagues would be outside the legal profession entirely. The civilian and government lawyer roles would be A or AA minor league. Circuit courts are the AAA farm club.
If an A farm team player has the capability of playing at the major leagues, and catches the eye of the scouts, then why can't they play in the majors? Just because they didn't work their way up through the system doesn't mean they don't have the ability to play at the top level.
BS. Early ( founding father days ) justices were not judges either. The constitution does not say anything about being a judge as a qualification.
I prefer a smart, God fearing person as opposed to a "judge". I am of the opinion that any American of above average intelligence is qualified, bar certified or not. The problem we have had is trying to get people that are qualified and we have seen what it got us. I dare say I would make just as good justice as any one else he could have picked. If you can read at a college level, you can interpret.
You sport analogy is off base as many sport fans idolize rookies to Hall of Fame status after one good first year.