Feature

Mukasey hits bumps

Several senators said they were disappointed with attorney general nominee Michael Mukasey

What happened
Several senators this week said they were disappointed with attorney general nominee Michael Mukasey’s refusal to say whether the Bush administration’s use of harsh interrogation methods on terror suspects was constitutional. But leaders of both parties said they still expect the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote next month to sign off and send the nomination to the full Senate, which is expected to confirm Mukasey.

What the commentators said
The “wave of support” for Mukasey from Democrats was “surprising,” said Jonathan Turley in the Los Angeles Times (free registration). He refused to “denounce the deplorable practice of ‘waterboarding’" and seemed willing to “lie to duck the issue.” That alone is enough to disqualify him from the job. We need someone “who will denounce torture.”

Mukasey promised to resign if the president violated the Constitution, said Robert F. Turner in OpinionJournal.com. What more do you want? Some critics complained that Mukasey wouldn’t use the federal wiretapping law to prevent the administration from using warrantless surveillance of foreign terror suspects, but that would “usurp presidential power” granted by the Constitution.

The debates over “the proper scope of federal power” won’t end when Bush leaves office, said Jeff Jacoby in The Boston Globe (free registration). At least, let’s hope they don’t. “We should welcome them as signs not just of factiousness, but of strength: Americans argue about fundamental freedoms because Americans are fundamentally free.”

Recommended

Uganda's 'shameful' new anti-gay law
Protesters against Uganda's anti-homosexuality bill
Global lens

Uganda's 'shameful' new anti-gay law

War under the sea
A nuclear-powered U.S. Navy submarine
Briefing

War under the sea

Xi Jinping tells national security team to prepare for 'worst-case scenario'
Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Chinese Troubles

Xi Jinping tells national security team to prepare for 'worst-case scenario'

Putin blames Kyiv for 'terrorist' drone attack as war comes home to Moscow
Moscow apartment damaged by drone
Hitting close to home

Putin blames Kyiv for 'terrorist' drone attack as war comes home to Moscow

Most Popular

Air New Zealand to weigh international passengers as part of safety survey
An Air New Zealand plane takes off from Sydney, Australia.
Step on the Scale

Air New Zealand to weigh international passengers as part of safety survey

Thousands flock to Missouri to see body of nun who died in 2019
People wait in line to see the exhumed body of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster.
drawing a crowd

Thousands flock to Missouri to see body of nun who died in 2019

Why are so many boomers homeless?
Homeless person and tents
Today's big question

Why are so many boomers homeless?