Again, the problem wasn't that conservatives didn't like Miers, it's that conservatives didn't know know enough about her to like or dislike her. Despite loud calls for insight and explaination, no useful information was forthcoming - forcing the voiced concerns ever louder.
As for deferring to the President's choice, she withdrew before the oft-demanded up-or-down vote - which is exactly where "defer" meets "put up or shut up".
You're not wrong.
But the deal is, conservatives trashed the call to trust the President. Instead, they trusted Coulter and others when they said, "Trust ME -- Owen, Luttig, McConnell -- they're all better."
Dan