Former Senator Dan Coats has been tasked by the White House with defending Miers. Check out his
statement in her defense:
"If great intellectual powerhouse is a qualification to be a member of the court and represent the American people and the wishes of the American people and to interpret the Constitution, then I think we have a court so skewed on the intellectual side that we may not be getting representation of America as a whole," Mr. Coats said in a CNN interview.
Sounds like the infamous Senator Hruska quote that sunk the embarassing Nixon Supreme Court nominee, G. Harrold Carswell:
Mr. Specter, asked about that remark, laughed and wondered if it was "another Hruska quote" - a reference to an oft-quoted comment by the late Roman Hruska, a Republican senator from Nebraska, who defended G. Harrold Carswell, a Supreme Court nominee who was rejected by the Senate. "Even if he is mediocre," Mr. Hruska said, "there are a lot of mediocre judges and people and lawyers. They are entitled to a little representation, aren't they, and a little chance?"
Carswell, of course, did not survive the nomination process. Oh well, at least Harriet Miers appears to be studying up for the confirmation hearings!