I'm admittedly exaggerating. But each governor recently had an appointment to make - with obviously different stakes. Each made politics a key consideration. Only no one seems to care that Doyle did it.

In Illinois, the loony Blago was impeached for allegedly trying to sell Barack Obama's Senate seat for political favors.

In Waukesha County, faced with a list of qualified applicants for the judgeship vacated by the rarely-at-work Mark Gempeler, Doyle made a blatantly political appointment, choosing Rick Congdon, a divorce attorney who was, until very recently, the former chairman of the Waukesha County Democratic Party.

Congdon is a multiple Doyle campaign contributor. He's also donated money to ultra-liberal federal judge Lynn Adelman. One can hope that Adelman won't be Congdon's judicial model. Of all the attorneys whom Doyle could have selected, he managed to find the most active Democrat probably in the recent history of this very conservative county. Great!

It's not that Congdon is not a good man. He is. But he wasn't the most qualified person, and he's ideologically out of step here. The public has demonstrated that it prefers conservative, or at least moderate, judges, especially here.

I am not accusing Doyle of illegality or Blago-style brazenness (although I'm sure the Wisconsin governor wasn't too pleased when Blagojevich named him as a potential character witness in a nationally televised press conference).

Blago is much goofier and is accused of criminal wrongdoing, although I wonder what Pat Fitzgerald would have done with Travelgate.

But does anyone really think that Congdon would have been appointed were it not for his political alliance with Doyle? Of course not. Does anyone think Congdon would have stood a snowball's chance in you know what with the county electorate were it not for the Doyle-and-Gempeler manufactured incumbency? No.

Congdon's term is up in 2010. Hysterically, Doyle's breathless press release announcing Congdon's appointment never mentioned Congdon's work with the local Democrats. (As recently as 2008, Congdon donated money to the Democratic Party.)

The Freeman editorialized that Doyle wasn't likely to pick Antonin Scalia anyway. True. But couldn't he at least pick Lloyd Carter (a respected prosecutor who applied), instead of a politically connected divorce attorney?

In November, as Democratic Party chairman, Congdon expressed hope that Obama's election means Waukesha can be turned more liberal. He told the media that Americans needed to restore faith in themselves.

During a Waukesha County Assembly race, Congdon absurdly demanded that conservative candidate and eventual winner Scott Newcomer be investigated for a felony for voting in Delafield. A special prosecutor exonerated Newcomer.

Congdon once snidely referred to County Executive Dan Vrakas as the "anointed one." Congdon represented a woman trying to keep a day care license after a young girl was allegedly sexually assaulted under her care. According to media reports, he argued she shouldn't be expected to watch the children constantly. He once called former Republican state Rep. Scott Jensen the "Michael Jackson" of Wisconsin politics.

Congdon's been a loyal foot soldier and partisan flamethrower. So, Doyle should give him a canned fruitcake for Christmas. Does he have to give him a judgeship? I'm sure Congdon will now try to remake himself as non-partisan, just like Mayor Larry Nelson.

Some will argue that Doyle is a Democratic governor, so he gets to appoint Democrats to the ostensibly nonpartisan post. Of course, a Gov. Mark Green would have chosen Republican judges.

But in 2003, Doyle did the right thing by letting county voters pick their own judge, when he opted not to appoint a replacement for Judge Marianne Becker. He could have done so again.

Doyle has a weak record when it comes to judicial appointments; look what happened with ousted Supreme Court Justice Louis Butler. That doesn't bode well for Congdon (who also donated money to Butler). Doyle should have learned a lesson the last time he foisted an ideologically unpalatable candidate on voters.

Congdon is regarded by many as nice but a legal lightweight. His Web site says his practice is "currently primarily focused on divorce and post-divorce motions."

Let's not go along with the charade that Congdon was the best candidate. He's sure to draw superior challengers. One, Jennifer Dorow, is a respected former prosecutor with a history of volunteerism for the Republican Party (including my husband's campaign, as a matter of disclosure). She's my pick. Dorow didn't seek the appointment from Doyle, but she'll likely announce a challenge to Congdon soon.

As one local Republican lawyer said, "She's savvy, smart, a fresh spirit, law and order with a heart, precisely what Waukesha County needs at this time."

My concern is that some conservatives will give Congdon cover when he ultimately runs to retain the seat like they did with appeals court and Doyle donor and appointee, Judge Lisa Neubauer. Many think Congdon is nice. So what. Butler was nice. I'm sure Adelman is nice. Dorow is nice too, and she wouldn't be an activist liberal.

(Jessica McBride is a member of the journalism faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a blogger and a Merton resident. Her column runs Saturdays in The Freeman.)