Ok, so you’re the person in charge of making the president’s decisions. You know you’re weaker now than at any other time since before 9/11. You also know that Karl Rove (who you probably are) is cold busted and ripe for a smackdown. You further know that whoever you name as your Supreme Court appointee is going to get shouted down by the mildly re-energized Democratic congress (and maybe even some mutinous Rs). Why, then, would you not try to appoint an obvious zero like Roberts? If you’re gonna lose one anyway, why not throw it in the dirt, thereby distracting attention from Rove, and giving the people on both sides of the aisle a little taste of the blood they’re yearning for. Then, when no one’s looking, Alberto Gonzales (or someone just like him) starts looking moderate.

This post brought to you by the tender 16-year-old conspiracy nut who lives in my eyebrow.