What's the deal with Harriet Miers?

My friend Mary has a theory, that Karl Rove is distracted by the Plame case and let Bush make his own decision regarding the SCOTUS nom. Obviously the result is poor. Say what you want about Karl (and I encourage you to), but you have to admit he runs a tight ship. I just don't get Bush's thought process on this one, for several reasons. After the scathing criticism he got for appointing an unqualified crony to FEMA, why would he choose another unqualified crony for this position? Also, I've heard a lot of talk these days about Bush's legacy -- in that context, this appears an especially odd choice. Most baffling, with his approval rating dropping and the Republicans embroiled in all kinds of high profile scandal (DeLay and Frist, as well as the growing Plame fallout), why on earth would he choose to annoy his base at this time? They were really counting on sticking it to the Dems and Harriet just doesn't accomplish that. I'm stumped. Conservatives are screeching about this nomination. As Bill Maher said, when you've lost the support of Peggy Noonan and Ann Coulter, you've really blown it. It will be interesting to see how the confirmation hearing plays out.