Mukasey good news for Giuliani and Bush
>James P. Pinkerton
September 18, 2007
Let's hope that the nomination of Michael Mukasey to be the next attorney general proves to be good news for the country - but it's already good news for Rudy Giuliani.
Indeed, the Republican ex-mayor turned presidential candidate has had a great week. More on Rudy in a moment - but first, Mukasey.
In a time of continuing terror, as well as a crime rate that is once again rising, the American people naturally hope that the Department of Justice will provide stern and competent enforcement. That was not the case, of course, with ex-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. He and his crew loved to talk tough, but they talked so loudly - publishing articles, for example, in praise of torture - that they generated a worldwide backlash.
By contrast, Mukasey, having been an effective lawyer, prosecutor and judge for 40 years without ever drawing much publicity, would seem to know that law is the art of the possible. And although Mukasey clearly leans to the right on "law and order" issues, he seems to have gained clearance, in advance, from New York's senior senator, Democrat Chuck Schumer.
Lloyd Green, a former Justice Department official in the administration of George H.W. Bush who is now in practice in New York City, describes Mukasey as "a stellar selection: He combines both a judge's temperament with a prosecutor's steeliness ... tough on crime, tough on terrorism, fully understanding how criminal and terror networks operate." If all that proves true, Mukasey could pack greatness into what's likely to be a brief tenure at DOJ.
No doubt various left-wing groups will rise to oppose Mukasey's nomination in the Senate, but of course, the White House will welcome such opposition. Catcalls from the fringe strengthen the administration's credentials with the vital center.
Indeed, MoveOn.org's slashing attack last Monday on Gen. David Petraeus, U.S. commander in Iraq, gave the Bush administration its best week since the 2004 re-election. MoveOn's snarky "Betray Us" newspaper advertisement revealed the group's tin ear for the sacred politics of wartime.
In the minds of patriotic Americans - including many critics of the war - there is a sacrament of sacrifice going on in Iraq today, as our armed forces fight and die, far from home. Yet, MoveOn went rampaging, metaphorically, through our national civic church, spraying graffiti and hurling firecrackers. Of course Americans were outraged.
And so back to Giuliani. Last week his campaign grabbed the opportunity to link top Democrats, especially New York's junior senator, Hillary Rodham Clinton, to MoveOn's civil sacrilege. On Capitol Hill, Clinton said that fully believing Petraeus and his war testimony required a "willing suspension of disbelief." It was an artful attempt to have it both ways. After all, Clinton voted for the Iraq war in 2002, but now she must oppose it sufficiently to win the dovish Democratic presidential nomination, while still not be being so strongly opposed that she ends up McGovernized and marginalized in the general election.
Yes, it was an artful attempt - but Giuliani called her on it. The former New York City mayor ran his own newspaper advertisement, attacking Clinton for attacking Petraeus. In so doing, Giuliani elevated his own status among Republicans, reminding the party faithful that he will fight for them where it matters most - against the dreaded Hillary.
Then Giuliani got more good news with Mukasey's appointment. The two men have worked together for decades, and so Rudy now has a sterling associate that he can point to with pride.
Mukasey has yet to be confirmed by the Senate, let alone tested in office. But if he can deliver on his tough-but-fair reputation, he will be an asset to George W. Bush, to Rudy Giuliani, and, perhaps most of all, to America. |
