George W. Bush deals with government lawyers all the time. Every lawyer he deals with is brilliant and knows the law really, really well. But Bush has probably found that some of these government lawyers don't really understand how the world works. They just know the law.
George W. Bush has known Miers for 10 years. He knows she's smart. He knows that she understands the law. He knows she has real world experience. He knows how she approaches things.
After working with her for 10 years, he decided she was a better choice for the court than the other people. I've liked his other choices very much. Miers took me by surprise, but I think he made a very smart choice.
Never play poker with W.