Ryan Lizza of The New Republic points out that earlier this year, Harriet Miers, the White House counsel, was not even licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia…and now she’s a nominee to the Supreme Court.

Here’s his excerpt from Miers’ responses to Senate Judiciary Committee questions:

“Earlier this year, I received notice that my dues for the District of Columbia Bar were delinquent and as a result my ability to practice law in D.C. had been suspended. I immediately sent the dues in to remedy the delinquency. The nonpayment was not intentioned, and I corrected the situation upon receiving the letter.”

Let’s forget the obvious and pathetic embarrassment that this SCOTUS nominee had her law license suspended. Okay, sure, it happens, whatever. I’m more struck by her language: “the nonpayment was not intentioned.”

Argh.

Let’s see how one could phrase this clause. “I was busy, and forgot to mail the check….” Or: “I meant to pay, but I was busy approving torture in Iraq….” Or, simply: “My bad.”

Instead, Miers uses that awful phrase: “The nonpayment was not intentioned.”

Intentioned?

It’s the same kind of passive language that she used in her letters to the Texas Bar, as pointed out by David Brooks, which, as you now know, I can not link to because of TimesSelect (speaking of awful language).

Not only is this excruciatingly bad writing—though we shouldn’t downplay that in a potential Supreme Court justice—but I would argue that it’s a metaphor for Miers’ relationship with President Bush, and perhaps her approach to life. She’s attached herself like a remora to a more powerful person. What happens next is unexpected and, well, dare I say it? Not intentioned. Maybe that’s why she apparently turned down an earlier offer to be nominated to replace Sandra Day O’Connor…she never realized how far passivity could take her. But now that she’s gotten used to the idea, she’s willing to ride the president all the way to the Supreme Court. It is, I guess, one model for getting ahead in life….