Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Eric Holder - The Next Attorney General of the United States


And the first Black American Attorney General.

Despite my hesitance...i'm actually feeling good about this choice. Eric Holder was the first person I thought of as an AG possibility, even when Obama was still competing for the Democratic nomination. I almost did a post on Eric Holder months ago, but I never got around to writing it.

He later became a second choice, after I read about the possible skeletons that would be raised about his activities in the Clinton Administration. But he is still an excellent choice. He has the experience for the job, and in particular, he has a background as a Prosecutor in the Justice Department. I think he would repair much of the damage left behind by Gonzo and others.... and he will correct all the gutting of voting rights and civil rights offices, will hopefully get to the bottom of the U.S. attorney firings, will hopefully prevent the politicization of the Justice Department (the way Republicans used it), will correct the Bush Administration practice of using unqualified political people in important positions to interfere with DOJ activities, and will restore the integrity of the U.S. Constitution.

He's also incredibly sharp... I can't wait to see him in the job. Blacks, and Black youth in particular, will get a two for one.... :). Another reason to be proud.

This is the first decent Obama pick.

Now the challenge will be getting him through the confirmation process.

I still believe that someone like a Patrick Fitzgerald would have been an outstanding choice too... and it probably would have been a safer one. He may end up being an Asst. AG.

I'm still not happy about all the Clinton appointees though... but as this case indicates, a few are probably o.k. (and were expected). The issue will be... just how many Clinton appointees will get positions in the new Government. 2 or 3 are o.k... But Obama has reached or surpassed that number already. I'm still afraid that we are headed for "The Clinton Administration 2.0".

1 comment:

rikyrah said...

didnt want to jinx it