Religious Litmus

Am I the only one flabbergasted by POTUS's statement that a big part of the reason he's appointing Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court is because of her religious beliefs? Quoting POTUS: "People ask me why I picked Harriet Miers. They want to know Harriet Miers' background. They want to know as much as they possibly can before they form opinions. And part of Harriet Miers' life is her religion."

Evidently so. Neither the Baltimore Sun, Washington Post, nor New York Times commented about it today. (The Sun had a minor front-page article about POTUS's statement "below the fold.") Not her legal acumen, not her experience trying cases, not her scholarship, but her religion. That's the best POTUS has got.

Unlike other government positions, Supreme Court appointments demand exceptionally-qualified legal minds. Competent just isn't good enough; religion is irrelevent. The Senate's constitutionally-mandated role to provide "advice and consent" on judicial appointments presumes there's something upon which to base a consent. In Miers's case, there is absolutely nothing for the Senate to review. Just her religion, her "trailblazing" legal experience on the Texas Lottery Commission, and some goofy missives to Bush.

The base cronyism and inept political hacking flowing out of this Republican administration are appalling. In my life, I've never seen anything like it. And I snorted - Snorted! - Watergate. POTUS as grifter. His is a travesty of statecraft.

And people think Katrina and Rita hammered this country.
K-