So the only reason Bush picked this Miers is simply because he doesn't want a fight? He has played right into the hands of the MSM and the super-libs by getting another O'Connor. At one point I thought this would be an okay nominee, but the more I listen and think about it; if I were Miers I would be shakin' in my boots and helping Bush find a solid, intellectual conservative with quick wit and immaculate communication skills (someone like Thomas,Scalia... hey Tom Sowell would be way cool).
I certainly don't know if Miers would be another disappointment like O'Connor, or worse, a complete disaster like Souter. Who knows, she may even wind up joining Scalia and Thomas as a consistent conservative voting block.
And to be fair, you can't know how anyone will decide cases until they are safely on the High Court with the comfort of a lifetime job to let their true nature prevail. And you can't say for sure if someone will change once in such a position.
And I agree with the criticism of the criticism of Miers that centers around an air of elitism. I agree that its a mistake to elevate the Sup Court above the other branches, and to treat the justices as somehow possessing a higher wisdom than us rubes, because that plays into the Left's vision of the Courts and the Left's attempts to bestow it with such gravitas that it lends legitimacy to their absurd liberal decisions that have no Constitutional justification. I don't think that the candidate must come from an Ivy League law school (though it must be said that many of the top conservative candidates did not attend such schools, like Brown and Owen, and I'm sure even Ann Coulter would have supported Brown).
But I also agree that one of the biggest shames of the Miers nomination is that Bush has failed to take advantage of the oft-mentioned deep bench of proven conservatives that has been developed over the last few decades. In failing to pick among these more proven candidates, one could also argue that Bush has sent a chilling and disheartening message to conservatives aspiring to serve on the courts; i.e. don't dare make any of your thoughts public. Contrast that with the extremist Ginsburg, whose radical ideas were out in the open at the time of her 90+ vote approval from the Senate.