Some of what we are learning about Harriet Miers is genuinely encouraging. She has been identified as an evangelical Christian with deep Christian commitments.
This means that Harriet Miers is not a product of the tight and relatively insulated world of legal scholarship and the judiciary. Her real-world experience in litigation, management, church, and life means that she is less likely to fall prey to the "inside the beltway" syndrome.
"It is time for all good men to come to the aid of their party."
*SIGH!* She's been "inside the Beltway" for five years. And Bush has had five years to keep his promises---the main one, the "elect and then re-elect me and I'll do this for you" one being to nominate people like Scalia and Thomas to the Supreme Court.
What party are you talkin' about?
You are mistaken. Miers has spent most of her life in political contexts - ABA head, city council, helping Bush in the WHite House, Texas gambling commission.
As such, she is *more* susceptible to beltway pressures and influences than a cloistered Judge.
Being an evangelical Christian may indicate that she can teach a mean Sunday School class. But how does that indicate she will be a good Supreme Court justice?
The same things being said about Miers were said about Sandra Day O'Connor:
United Press International
July 8, 1981, Wednesday, AM cycle
SECTION: Washington News
BYLINE: By WESLEY G. PIPPERT
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
In Texas, television evangelist James Robison expressed his support for Mrs. [Sandra Day] O'Connor based on a conversation Tuesday with presidential counselor Edwin Meese.
A Robison aide said Meese told the evangelist:
''Sandra O'Connor thinks abortion is abhorrent and is not in favor of it. She agrees with the president on abortion. There was a time when she was sympathetic toward the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) movement, but the more she studied and found out about it, the more she changed her mind.
''She is very conservative ... Sandra O'Connor assured the president that she was in agreement with him and she totally supports pro-family issues and the Republican platform.''