Mukasey
By Pejman Yousefzadeh Posted in Law — Comments (3) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Perceived problems notwithstanding--and with all due respect to Brother Erickson--all indications are that Judge Michael Mukasey would make an excellent Attorney General. Yes, I probably would have preferred Ted Olson and yes, Ted Olson would have been utterly superb. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't respect or admire Mukasey or believe that he would not excel in the job. His record is admirable as a judge and a prosecutor, he has played a significant role on the legal front in the battle against terrorism and he supports the Patriot Act. Quite frankly, there is little else to be desired from the standpoint of center-right law aficionados. And center-right law aficionados need not be nervous about Mukasey merely because Nan Aron and Charles Schumer like him. Patrick Leahy liked John Roberts and even voted to confirm him for Chief Justice. That didn't cause any conniptions on the Right. Nor should it have. And neither should this.
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Ted Olson dosen't need any fights right now. He needs to stay clean so he can be AG in a Guiliani/Thompson administration.
Perhaps Mukasey is Bush's way of saying Congress needs to do some actual work. I mean, how long is the appointment good for? 14 months, 16? Myself, I would have nominated the most contentious person I could find for AG. It would have kept Congress busy for awhile. Then I'd move on to the next most contentious and so on... I don't really want this Congress doing anything to screw up the country worse than it already is. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure...
Sometimes the legacy isn't what you leave behind on the books but how what you do shapes the future.
Okay, enough with the philosophizing.
In the end, it is irrelevant whether Mukasey is "pro-choice." This is not a judicial appointment and Mukasey will not have the "freedom of movement" that he had as a judge. When it comes down to it he will have to follow the policies laid down by the President. As long as Bush is committed to a culture of life you can expect that to be the official policy at Justice regardless of the personal opinions of the AG.