Prediction: Oral Hatch will be the next AG.

[Skidmore]

Earlier on MSNBC, a short list was presented of candidates for the job and Oral Hatch was on it. Just now on Washington Journal, Peter read a portion of an interview with Arlen Specter, who was being quoted as essentially saying that * should not put up anyone controversial but thought that someone more neutral like a legislator would get through the approval process without difficulty. I'm sorry about not being able to quote this precisely and if anyone caught the newspaper the article was from, feel free to post it.

[soothsayer]

1. they'll nominate lieberman and then will get to fill his seat with a repug!

[peacebird]

4. kinda what I was thinking as well...

[rzemanfl]

5. Did Liebermann go to law school? n/t

[soothsayer]

11. yup. 99% of them do (lawmakers)

[youngdem]

6. This is my bet as well

No way they would have let Gonzo go unless there was something horrible for them to do with the replacement.

[cali]

13. Ridiculous.

Lieberman has more than 5 years left in his Senate term. He wields a significant amount of power in that position. Why would he trade that in for 16 months heading a beleaguered dept in a crippled admin?

[Virginia Dare]

17. He's probably holding out for VP...

that will be the penultimate fuck you to the Democrats before Bushie leaves.

[DCKit]

2. Oral Roberts, Orrin Hatch nt

[C_U_L8R]

3. Open Hatch

on a sinking ship

[Tesha]

10. Humor detector calibration needed! Stat! (NT)

[MiniMe]

7. He would be a fool to take it

So would Lieberman. They would be giving up their Senate seat for a job that will last less than 18 months.

[Skidmore]

8. No one sez that Oral is smart...he's the ultimate toady.

And proud of it.

[saltpoint]

9. Hatch as AG? Frightening and sickening and unfortunately plausible.

[tom_paine]

12. He is a Poppy-Bushie, like Gates, so he can put a "respectable" face

on the same bullshit, the same way that gates answered a couple of questions honestly and our Democrats gave him the keys to the kingdom on that basis alone.

I suspect Oral Hatch will work out much the same way. Overwhelming approval 70-30 or greater, followed by an adherence to Bushie Policies and a forwarding of it that will equal or even eclipse Tortureboy Gonzales.

[PDittie]

14. A Hatch appointment makes a lot of sense

if you can think like a Republican (I know, it hurts my head, too):

1. He can continue to provide cover for the Bushies as the investigations move forward, maintaining that year-and-a-half-head start the criminals still need. He's a loyalist and Bush won't name anything but.

2. A caretaker tenure as AG could be considered a capstone to his lengthy career in public service.

3. He can rest easy knowing another ultra-conservative will replace him, by appointment or election. Hatch is too old to give a damn about staying in the Senate, hoping for the GOP majority comeback, now quite unlikely to happen in his remaining lifetime (and hopefully, for that matter, his children's).

4. No chance of him achieving his greatest ambition -- getting to the Supreme Court -- with a Democratic presidency coming in 2008.

5. A Hatch appointment avoids a bruising confirmation battle; something Bush has never shied from before, but may no longer have the stomach to fight. A Chertoff confirmation is guaranteed to keep stirring the turd, to say nothing of whomever must be named to replace him at DHS.

[bryant69]

15. It makes sense

Senate Congeniality should get him through the confirmation process without too many problems.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[Armstead]

16. He's not horrible enough

Okay, he's horrible. But still "acceptable" to most people in the Beltway.

I think Bush might make one of his "finger in your eye" appointments. Someone that would really piss off Democrats and liberals.

Yes that sounds counterintuitive -- but that seerms to be Bush's modus operandi. He just looooves a confrontation, no matter what the cost.

[charlie]

18. I was thinking that too

Hatch would break the progression of evil. Ashcroft was barmy and authoritarian enough, then he sprung Gonzales on us. Whoever's next, I expect it to be someone like "Death Squads" Negroponte or worse. If he could dig up and reanimate Henry Lee Lucas, that'd be his guy.