Exhibit A -- President George W. Bush on his criteria for nominating judges (June 2002):

"We need common-sense judges who understand that our rights were derived from God. Those are the kind of judges I intend to put on the bench."

Exhibit B -- George "My favorite philosopher is Jesus" Bush on why he chose Harriet Miers to nominate to the Supreme Court:

"People are interested to know why I picked Harriet Miers," Bush told reporters at the White House. "Part of Harriet Miers' life is her religion."

Exhibit C -- Radical Christian cleric James Dobson on his discussions with Karl Rove about Miers:

What did Karl Rove say to me that I knew on Monday that I couldn't reveal? Well, it's what we all know now, that Harriet Miers is an Evangelical Christian, that she is from a very conservative church, which is almost universally pro-life, that she had taken on the American Bar Association on the issue of abortion and fought for a policy that would not be supportive of abortion, that she had been a member of the Texas Right to Life.

Exhibit D -- The Constitution of the United States, Article VI, Clause 3:

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

I'm still not entirely sure what the heck is going on with this utterly bizarre nomination, but it's becoming more and more clear that Miers' legal qualifications barely entered into the conversation.

One thing is nearly certain: these nomination hearings should be good theater.