[xzins]

What is the difference between a crony and a friend? a crony and an associate? a crony and a colleague? a crony and a preferred expert?

[goldstategop]

You make my point. Can any one tell me if Miers would have been chosen if she were not a personal friend and counsel to the President? Of course not! It is exactly this kind of favoritism that we do not want to see manifested in an appointment to our Supreme Court. President Bush's pick of Roberts was excellent for all the reasons that his pick of Miers is not.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[BushMeister]

What is the difference between a crony and a friend? a crony and an associate? a crony and a colleague? a crony and a preferred expert?

A friend becomes a crony when he/she is shown favor over someone more qualified because the (now) crony has superior proximity or collegial closeness to the decision maker.

[finnigan2]

"What is the difference between a crony and a friend? a crony and an associate? a crony and a colleague? a crony and a preferred expert?"

- The difference is simple. Being a crony implies that you are a slightly shady insider who is in it for the money, power and influence whereas if you are just a friend, such as a Ruth Bader Ginsburg, then you have been chosen because the President has had the wisdom to recognize true genius when he sees it.
Does anyone seriously doubt that Ginsburg was chosen by Hitlery and her pro abortion support lobbyists as a way of shoring up Roe v. Wade, using her influence over a President whom I doubt gave a damn one way or the other?