I guess you could look at it that way. I could make an equally strong case that considering other irons in the fire at this moment, especially the War, a big nasty fight inside the beltway would be bad timing when a so-called "stealth nominee" will accomplish the same end that one of those lightening rod nominees would.
I'm sure the President and other have fully rationalized and justified this pick in their own minds.
But it cannot be disputed that "stealth" comes with a cost. It is not a free pass, and it does not energize all of the conservatives.
This nomination has cause me to have doubts about President Bush that I never expected to have. I dislike it for that reason too. I really really want to trust him. He is making that hard.