Excellent points. And I would add, re: points 2 and 3. . .would you apply the same standard to a Democratic appointee in the future?
That is, would you be up in arms if someone was appointed just because they were a reliable vote that the President knew well personally?
Yes. The standard has to be the same or we would be guilty of the same hypocrisy as the Democrats. However, you wouldn't see this type of criticism on the Democrat side. They tend to follow the same strategy as the Bushbots and agree in lockstep.