Sharp Questions Await Gonzales Successor

[soothsayer]

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' replacement - whoever that may be - faces a potentially nasty Senate confirmation and a beleaguered Justice Department badly in need of leadership.

Gonzales' resignation, announced Monday, cheered his critics who for months had demanded the attorney general quit over questions about his credibility.

Filling his job could lead to a new standoff between White House Republicans and the Democratic-led Congress, experts said, even as names of possible successors began to surface.

"Selecting a successor to Gonzales will be a challenge because the Senate is unlikely to confirm anyone as aggressive as Gonzales in the defense of executive power and the practice of secrecy," said Peter Shane, professor at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.

(Snip.) Article goes on to name possible choices like Sen. Jack Danforth, Lieberman(!), Orrin Hatch, and Hutchinson.

more at http://apnews1.iwon.com//article/20070828/D8R9VMBO0.html

[sampsonblk]

1. This is a Balls Check

There is no reason in the world to confirm anyone who is unacceptable. The first clown that comes up to the Hill and says he supports crooked wiretapping, unfettered exec priviledge or "aggressive" interrogation, should be refused even a vote.

Have our party 'leaders' joined the team yet, or are they still in Bush-fear mode?

Will they take the coward's way out and claim they didn't have the votes?

We shall see.