Years back I heard Ross Perot cackle and say that if he hired a roomful of A—list Ivy League graduates who graduated atop their classes, all he'd get out of them would be an argument. He said this to justify hiring people from less prestigious schools who could work together as a team and thereby produce a lot more.

Today, the consensus opinion is that Mr. Roberts is going to be one of the brighter lights the SCOTUS has ever seen. And the consensus on the Right is that non—jurist, non—ivy leager Ms. Miers is a dim bulb concerning Constitutioal law and we secretly wish that Mr. Bush would have nominated Ann Coulter, because we want the fight.

Two problems that: 1) You go to war with the army you've got. And the Republican Senate caucus does not inspire confidence. 2) We need an effective consensus of jurists on the right—side of the SCOTUS.

Steve Poling  10 05 05