Was Harriet Miers a Stalking Horse?

Has it ever crossed your mind -- I mean given how little sense it all made -- kind of like how the Aspens were turning with their roots connected -- that the whole thing might make sense from a different angle? A stalking horse of the political type is "a person whose candidacy is advanced temporarily to conceal the actual choice or to divide the opposition." Now, I don't want to give George too much credit here or Karl either (though I sense his hand in all this -- never really bought that he was too distracted to think straight), but you have to wonder, especially now that we aren't likely to see another woman on the Supreme Court for a very long time, whether charging Harriet out there into the valley of death was altogether as idiotic as it seemed. George tried to choose a woman and we wouldn't have it. Did they know she'd be so soundly rejected? Anyone breathing knew she would be within hours of her nomination. And she didn't just divide the opposition, she dissolved it with her resignation, bringing the disgruntled back into the fold, allowing the latest nominee to appear stellar on all fronts. It's sort of like Libby seeming like the only bad guy. You don't think that just maybe he fell on his sword -- or got pushed? I mean, you have to wonder. Don't you?

Some additional thoughts on political deception here.