by Frank James
Rumors are flying that President Bush may choose Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to succeed Attorney General Albert Gonzales.
If the president does that, he is guaranteed of having at least one, and perhaps two confirmation battles going on almost simultaneously since he would have to choose a replacement for the Homeland Security job as well.
Since it’s speculated that one of the reasons Gonzales is stepping down is so the president can clear the decks in order to get as much done as possible during the remainder of his lame duck term, that would be a curious move since it wouldn’t do much in terms of deck clearing.
Despite Chertoff’s experience as a federal judge and Justice Department official, Chertoff would be controversial on Capitol Hill because of his mishandling of the Hurricane Katrina preparations and recovery efforts as well as his being one of the administration’s highest profile negotiators on the failed immigration legislation.
Which leads to Paul Clement, the solicitor general of the U.S. President Bush just said he’s made Clement acting attorney general until the president nominates a replacement.
Clement, age 40, is held to be one of Washington’s brightest lawyers. Here’s a passage from the Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog:
Clement, 40 years old, is a bona fide legal star with impeccable conservative credentials — Federalist Society, clerkships with Judge Silberman and Justice Scalia, Kirkland & Ellis’s D.C. office, etc. In 2000, he worked hard on Bush v. Gore; after the election Solicitor General Ted Olson named Clement his deputy. “I wanted a deputy solicitor general made from the mold of John Roberts,” Olson told the WSJ. He garners praise from both sides of the aisle as a “just-the-facts, just-the-law kind of guy,” in the words of Jim Comey. He comes across as easygoing and unpretentious, writes Bravin. “He is doubtless the first solicitor general to frequent Washington’s alternative- rock outpost, the 9:30 Club,” says the profile, noting parenthetically:“Although he likes the Scottish group Franz Ferdinand, he says his all-time favorite band remains the grunge pioneer, Nirvana.”
• 
• 
• 
• 
Comments
Well, picking someone who is bright and non political would be the smart choice. Since we're dealing with Shrubby, however, we can rule that one out.
Yep, my money's on Skeletor.
Posted by: weinerdog43 | August 27, 2007 12:21 PM
My money is on a recess appointment and our new AG will be...
Ann Coulter!
Posted by: nisleib | August 27, 2007 12:34 PM
So, who replaces Chertoff?
Posted by: Doug Zook | August 27, 2007 12:38 PM
"HOWS THAT FENCE GOING CHERTOFFF
YOU'VE DONE A HECKUVA JOB ON KARTRINA CHERTOFF NOW I NEED YOU TO LEAD MY FISA COURTS, I MEAN MY NECESSARY AND APPROPRIATE USE OF FORCE ON THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
SO NOW YOU ARE THE "HONORABLE CHERTOFF" LAW OF THE LAND RULER.
THE PRESIDENT CALLED THE CONSTITUTION A "LIVING DOCUMENT." OBIVIOUSLY ONE HE HAS NOT READ.
CHERTOFF IS A LIVING FAILURE. LIVING PROOF TO THE RISE OF CRONYISM. HE HAD NO CLUE AS TO HOW TO LEAD THE NATIONS INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY, FEMA, FBI, CIA, NSA, SECRETARY OF INTERIOR, SECRETARY OF STATE, SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.
HEAD OF NATIONALITY AND IMMIGRATION. NEED I SAY MORE THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE CONSTITUTION THE WAY WE KNOW IT.
12.7 BILLION TO BUILD A FENCE AND WITH 12 MILLION IMMIGRANT LABORERS IN THE UNITED STATES, HE CAN'T GET THAT DONE. HOW IS HE GOING TO PROTECT AND ADHERE TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. HOW IS HE GOING TO POLICE THE WHITE HOUSE FOR THAT MATTER. HE IS A KEY ARCHITECT OF THE PATRIOT ACT.
ITS A BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN EPISODE WAITING TO HAPPEN.
BUT CAN YOU DO IT ON ANOTHER PRESIDENTS WATCH. GO BACK TO THE RANCH AND HAVE YOUR VISIONARY DREAMS OF SATONIC DESTRUCTION OF THE UNITED STATES.
JUST ANOTHER CULTURE OF CORRUPTION CRONY SLEEPING HIS WAY TO THE TOP. I DO MEAN SLEEPING.
BUT WHAT ABOUT THAT FENCE SECRETARY CHERTOFF, "SECURE FENCE ACT OF 2006"
MR. PHONY!
Posted by: Roger Morris | August 27, 2007 12:47 PM
The Democrats on Capitol Hill and in the media will go bonkers over anybody Bush appoints--unless he appoints Nancy Pelosi.
Posted by: Bruce | August 27, 2007 1:07 PM
The surest way to get promoted in the Bush Administration is to show gross incompetence in your current job.
Posted by: Anonymous | August 27, 2007 1:29 PM
Calling the Attorney General "Gonzo" in your headline rather than his proper Hispanic name would be like calling Clinton or Obama "Bozo." But, given the fact that Hunter Thompson, who popularized the term, "Gonzo Journalism" felt that "objectivity in journalism was a myth," your reference only solidifies the belief that Thompson was right.
Posted by: Shields | August 27, 2007 1:59 PM
Shields,
Dubya called Gonzo Fredo. Is this the kind of respect you had in mind?
Posted by: Doug Zook | August 27, 2007 2:47 PM
Calling the Attorney General "Gonzo" in your headline rather than his proper Hispanic name would be like calling Clinton or Obama "Bozo." But, given the fact that Hunter Thompson, who popularized the term, "Gonzo Journalism" felt that "objectivity in journalism was a myth," your reference only solidifies the belief that Thompson was right.
Posted by: Shields | August 27, 2007 1:59 PM
More dribble from Bruce.
Posted by: John E | August 27, 2007 3:00 PM
Ken Starr. The entertainment value would be priceless.
Posted by: whatnow | August 27, 2007 4:12 PM
Chalk up another victim to the Lynch Party; Bolton, Libby and now Gonzalez. None broke laws. Who is next? Petraeus?
Posted by: Woody Anderson | August 27, 2007 4:31 PM
Woody, if the Loony Left had its way, George Washington would have been hung, Abraham Lincoln shot (oops, that happened), Teddy Roosevelt shot (oops, that happened too), Neil Armstrong hung, Thomas Jefferson stabbed to death, Patrick Henry banished to Siberia, etc.
The Loony Left will not rest until it destroys every decent American and turns the U.S. into a state of Venezuala.
And Shields you are correct about calling Gonzalez "Gonzo." The Trib would not use such a name for any liberal Democratic politician.
Posted by: John D | August 27, 2007 5:00 PM
Svengoulie as AG?
Go back to Berwyn.
Posted by: C.Morris | August 27, 2007 8:54 PM
" Who is next? Petraeus?
Posted by: Woody Anderson | August 27, 2007 4:31 PM"
Let's hope.
Posted by: TheReamer | August 27, 2007 9:09 PM
Berwyn!!!
Yeah, we'd love Gen. Betrayus. He's doing such a great job of mismanaging a 5 year old occupation, I'm sure he'd do a GREAT job running our country's law enforcement dept. NEXT!
Posted by: weinerdog43 | August 27, 2007 9:29 PM
Of course the Lynch Party doesn't want Petraeus or any other General who could win the war. The Lynch Party believes it is better served by losing the war. It never learns. When the Lynch Party brought the troops home from Viet Nam, 2-3 million died. Iran will do the same when we leave Iraq. Sleep well, Lynch Party.
Posted by: woody anderson | August 28, 2007 9:14 AM
"When the Lynch Party brought the troops home from Viet Nam,"
Woody, what political Party did Richard Nixon belong to?
Posted by: Tony | August 28, 2007 9:47 AM
Hey, Tony, the Lynch Party controlled congress.
Posted by: Woody Anderson | August 28, 2007 11:55 AM
Woody-
As current events prove, you can't force a withdrawal from a war if you control Congress if the President doesn't want to end the war.
The Congress did not end the war in 1973. Nixon did.
Posted by: Tony | August 28, 2007 3:38 PM
Juan Thompson and the Aspen Institute hosted a symposium on July 21, 2007 on the work of the late writer Hunter S. Thompson who created his own genre of writing with Gonzo Journalism and changed American political reporting forever with his book Fear & Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72.
Thirty-five years later journalists Carl Bernstein, Michael Isikoff of Newsweek, Loren Jenkins of NPR, John Nichols of The Nation and others came together in a symposium moderated by Professor Douglas Brinkley to discuss the effect of Hunter's work on political reporting and American politics.
The hour and half event is exclusively available at www.HunterThompsonFilms.com in nineteen clips of free, streaming video produced by Wayne Ewing.
Jennifer Erskine
Associate Producer
Posted by: JENNIFER ERSKINE | September 25, 2007 1:14 PM