Caving on Mukasey

Did you hear what Sen. Charles Schumer said today about attorney general nominee Michael Mukasey, the judge who refused to say whether he opposed a coercive interrogation technique barred by the Geneva Conventions? He said he would support the nominee because if he doesn't, President Bush will probably pick someone worse. Is that really where the United States is in 2007? Or is this really just a bad dream? With Sens. Schumer of New York and Dianne Feinstein of California agreeing to back Mukasey, it looks like the New York jurist will be approved to be the next U.S. attorney general. But his task is not envious. He will be taking over a demoralized and morally compromised agency in charge of enforcing the laws that the president and his followers blatantly misinterpret and violate. What kind of job can he possibly be able to do. He'll probably do a far superior job than his predecessor, Alberto Gonzales, the president's friend, who is blamed for dangerously politicizing the Justice Department like it was in Richard Nixon's presidency in the late '60s and early '70s. Nixon, of course, was the only president to resign.