"Old" Miers and "Young" Roberts

We've been hearing it ever since the President nominated her.

Harriet Miers at age 60 is "old." Why didn't Bush nominate someone "young" like our new 50 year old Chief Justice John Roberts?

A “young” person like Roberts will serve on the SCOTUS so much longer than the "old" Miers, assuming she's confirmed.

But wait a minute; don’t women have a longer life expectancy than men? Sure they do.

For white women and men the ages of Miers (60) and Roberts (50), the average life expectancy is somewhere between 5 and 7 years greater for women, depending on your source.

Take the middle figure 6. Miers at 60 has a life expectancy the same as a white male age 54.

That being the case, than in terms of expected years of service on the SCOTUS, Miers expected service is only 4 years less than that of Roberts.

And all of that assumes good health and safety for both through decades; blessings that no statistical table can assure to any of us.

So maybe we can put the age issue aside, and move on to other, more important considerations concerning Miers.

If we did that, I'd be willing to bet our new Chief Justice would rule in our favor.

What do you think?