CNN is like crack to me. I often sit watching the ticker at the bottom of the screen with hopes that there will be some new earth-shattering headline scrolling by. My obsession with politics, current events and foreign policy could be considered sick by most other college students. So, as soon as President George Bush announced the nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, I reacted quickly. Who the hell is Harriet Miers?

The nomination of Miers to the Supreme Court has left me, and the rest of the United States, completely confused. By picking someone who has stayed out of the limelight of the national political arena, President Bush is either a political genius or just plain stupid. (You can go ahead and guess which one of the two that I typically lean toward). My immediate reaction was Bush was trying to sneak some no-name, uber-conservative past the Democrats, but as more information about this candidate surfaces, attempting to analyze Bush’s logic has become almost impossible.

Bush will find himself in an increasingly difficult political situation, with party loyalties not playing the major role in the debates. National Public Radio reported that even the Republicans are starting to doubt Bush’s choice, and some conservatives have suggested that the nomination of Miers should be withdrawn.

As the judicial hearings approach, there will be more and more GOP voices expressing their opposition to the president’s nominee. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan. and the chair on the Senate Judiciary Committee, has even indicated that he does not believe that Miers is the best choice to the high court. Brownback commented that Miers would have a hard time following the prior nominee, John Roberts. He remarked that it would be “like following Elvis.” I, however, see a few major differences between Roberts and Elvis, but I’ll save that for another column that I shall call “Why the Supreme Court Justices are not like rock legends.”

Roberts would be a hard act to follow for anyone. As a liberal, I don’t even have a problem saying that John Roberts was a good choice to the Chief Justice position. It is hard to deny that the man’s resume in the U.S. court system is impressive, regardless of how you actually feel about his policies.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to discredit everything Miers has done in her career. The Washington Post explained on Sunday that she was a successful corporate lawyer in Texas. However, the type of law she is used to working with does not deal with the kinds of cases that are usually seen on the Supreme Court. Democrats are expected to exploit this fact and will raise this question: Why would someone nominate a person to the highest court in the land, who has probably not even read over historical cases?

Miers already has begun preparing for the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings that will begin sometime early in November. In the coming weeks, it will be interesting to hear Bush defend his candidate and watch to see how ridiculous these hearings become.

Jen Steer is a sophomore broadcast news major and a columnist for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact her at [email protected].