[<font size="3">quote]</font> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" valign="top"><p style="margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px" class="storyheaderlarge"><font size="3">Bush plans to pick Mukasey for A.G. </font></p><p style="margin-top: 10px"><span class="author"><font size="3">By: </font><font size="3">Mike Allen</font><font size="3"> Sep 16, 2007 07:30 AM EST <font color="#ca031b">Updated:September 16, 2007 04:42 PM EST </font></font></span></p></td></tr><tr><td class="story" valign="top"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" align="right"><tbody><tr><td><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="274" bgcolor="#ffffff"><tbody><tr><td><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="border: #999999 1px solid"><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><font size="3"> </font><font size="3">The White House has signaled that Michael Mukasey is the likely nominee to replace Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. </font><font size="3">Photo: Composite image by Politico.com</font></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" width="100%" align="center"><tbody><tr><td width="50%"><table border="0" width="123" height="102" style="width: 123px; height: 102px"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><font color="#ca031b">SAVE</font></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Digg</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>del.icio.us</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Technorati</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>reddit</td></tr></tbody></table><font size="3"></font></td><td width="50%"><table border="0" width="100%" height="116"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><font color="#ca031b">SHARE</font></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>COMMENT</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>PRINT</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>EMAIL</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>RECOMMEND</td></tr><tr><td></td></tr></tbody></table><font size="3"></font></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td align="center"><font size="3"></font></td></tr></tbody></table> <font size="3">President Bush plans to choose Michael B. Mukasey, a former federal judge who was nominated to the bench by Ronald Reagan, to replace Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Republicans close to the process told The Politico. "It came down to confirmability," said a former Justice Department official involved in the conversations. Conservatives had been rooting for former Solicitor General Theodore B. (Ted) Olson, but Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) vowed Wednesday to block his confirmation. "The White House seems like they don't want a confirmation fight," said a Republican close to the selection process. "They think this guy is bulletproof from the left." Adding a note of caution, the official said, "They want to make sure there's not a Harriet Miers rebellion from the right," referring to a Bush Supreme Court choice whose nomination was later withdrawn. The White House, watching the congressional mood and calendar, is concerned about nominating someone who can quickly get to work rebuilding a Justice Department that has been demoralized and distracted by the travails of Gonzales. His resignation is effective Monday, and he gave farewell remarks Friday. The announcement will come as soon as Monday, the Republicans said. The White House would not comment on its plans or deliberations. Mukasey, 66, was Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, which includes Manhattan, until he went into private practice last year. So a Texan who has long been part of the president’s orbit is to be replaced by a New Yorker who is little-known to Washington conservatives. </font></p> <font size="3">[/quote]</font></p> <font size="3"></font></p> <font size="3">The Politico</font></p></td></tr></tbody></table>
Judge Mukasey is definitely an interesting choice, if nothing else. While some would rather see an Olson or a Bork nominated, a solid Judge from the SDNY might be the best bet.
