attorney general nominee

The overnight transformation of Michael Mukasey

On Wednesday, during the first day of his confirmation hearings, Michael Mukasey seemed like a breath of fresh air, actually intimating that he would follow the law. But something happened to him overnight. Yesterday, Mukasey was sounding like just another Bush-bot who thinks the laws don't apply to Bush. We've had one Attorney General who thought that -- and it didn't go well:

Attorney general nominee Michael Mukasey signaled Thursday he shares the administration’s expansive view of President Bush’s authority to withhold information from Congress, skirt federal statutes and authorize harsh interrogation techniques.

The retired federal judge’s statements, during the second day of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, put him at odds with the Democrats who will decide whether Mukasey succeeds Alberto R. Gonzales as the head of the Justice Department.

What Mukasey said put him at odds with the U.S. Constitution, not just Democrats. Also, it's worse because Mukasey was a federal judge who should know better.

As usual, Russ Feingold provided some clarity:

Russ Feingold, D-Wis., told Mukasey that “it sounds like, overnight, you’ve gone from being agnostic, as you and I have gone back and forth since our first meeting on this question, to holding what is a rather disturbing view.”

So, what did happen between the time Mukasey left Capitol Hill on Wednesday and when he returned on Thursday. Team Bush probably used their own interrogation techniques to get Mukasey back on their message.

(Americablog)
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Wouldn't it be nice if someone was appointed to a position who was qualified and who was willing to actually do their job and not be a yes-man to bush?