I don't know what to think. On the one hand, Bush AG appointee Michael Mukasey seems to be a stand up guy with a great resume and a solid career in civil service. On the other hand, Charles Schumer likes him. Phil reported earlier that there isn't likely to be much resistance to Mukasey, but conservatives still aren't sure whether they like this or not. On the anti- side we have Calabresi at Time:
But in dropping Olson and going with Mukasey, Bush has opened himself up to attack from the right. Conservatives are worried about Mukasey's 1994 denial of asylum for a Chinese man who said his wife had been forced to have an abortion under that country's one-child law, which they say indicates he's weak on pro-life issues. And though he has consistently ruled with the Administration on a number of important and high-profile terrorism cases, Mukasey broke with them in an early, crucial ruling, saying that American citizen Jose Padilla had a right to a lawyer, no matter what his status in the war on terror. Mukasey is also very close to former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, whom social conservatives distrust.
On the pro- side we have Peter Wehrner at the Corner:
The truth is that that more people learn about Judge Mukasey, the more impressed they will be. He is respected not because he is a "mushy moderate" who holds no strong or discernable views; in fact, Mukasey is a law-and-order judge who has strongly, publicly, and eloquently defended The Patriot Act. The respect Judge Mukasey has earned is based on the quality of his mind and character. He is a formidable figure - and he will be a formidable Attorney General.
Seems that this is one of those things where you can find facts to fit your point of view, whatever that may be. Bush may have decided that picking a fight over the AG was not worth it. This isn't the hill he wanted to die on. This is a strategic move, and the strategy is that we don't talk about the attorney general position again until 2009.
Mukasey may not be a conservative, but we're talking about sixteen months. let's let Bush keep his eye on the ball. This was a good move.
