Bad idea. Picking one appointee over another before election day only gives the press an opportunity to beat up on a candidate. Do you really want to put the country through the hell of confirmation hearings before a president has even been chosen? I don’t mean actual senate hearings, I mean the whole mess that appointees (Bork, Thomas, etc.) are put through by the media. Plus, we all get so sick of public officials by the end of their tenure; why would you want to start that process even earlier.
I totally agree with you. Not to mention those people picked probably would not appreciate being pestered in an election.
Really bad idea.