Almost Ready to Concede

I want to give Harriet Miers the benefit of the doubt.  I really do.  That tends to be my naturally ingrained approach to almost all people in almost all circumstances.  One of those wishy-washy liberal things, I suppose.

But Give Me A Break.  The Senate Judiciary Committe has returned her judicial questionnaire and asked for more information, stating that her responses were "inadequate," "insufficient," and "insulting."

Contrary to popular opinion as generated by prime time television, what lawyers mostly do is write.  Voluminous amounts of writing.  They do that after they have done their research (or gotten someone to do it for them).  Voluminous amounts of research.  It's understandable that television viewers may not be aware of this basic fact of lawyer life, because a television show depicting lawyers doing much of what lawyers actually do would be insufferably boring.  However, the sad reality is that most lawyers are not sexy babes in short skirts arguing dramatic cases before curmudgeonly judges.  Most lawyers are scrunched up behind a computer with stacks of papers and books sliding off all available surfaces as they try to make enough sense of conflicting arguments to create cogent ones of their own.

So how embarrassing is it that a lawyer would produce written work that is characterized as  inadequate, insufficient and insulting?  Let me count the ways.

No, on second thought, that would be one of those boring lawyer activities. 

Ms. Miers, however, SHOULD be engaged in boring lawyer activities.  She needs to convince the rest of us that, should she make it to the court, she will be capable of developing and writing an opinion. 

Not lookin' good so far.