It can only go up from here

Call me crazy, but I think President Bush (or most likely one of his advisors) purposely nominated Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court because they knew she wouldn't get support. Her credentials were a farce for someone tapped to be the next Justice - at the very least could she have some experience as a judge? With the bar set so low, the next nomination would certainly be compared to Miers, which makes this latest nominee look outstanding. That's not to say Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. can't stand on his own two feet (he is from the greatest state after all), but it helps when just being able to breathe puts you ahead of the last one knocked off the pedestal.