In Cheney’s Sept.17 statement on Mukasey’s nomination, the Vice President said the retired federal judge would “ensure that the rights and freedoms of the American people are protected, and that includes the freedom from the fear of terrorist attacks.”
By singling out “freedom from the fear of terrorist attacks” as the only identified “right” in the statement, Cheney indicated where he and the President put their priorities – on protecting Americans from the remote personal threat that they might be harmed in a terrorist attack, forget the niceties of civil liberties and the rule of law.
As a federal judge, Mukasey demonstrated that he was on board.
Describing his selection process, the New York Times wrote that “a review of his record shows that he would defend the administration on the issue that matters most to the President, national security. [Mukasey] has repeatedly spoken out to support the administration’s claim to broad powers in pursuing terrorist threats, especially in conducting electronic surveillance of terrorism suspects and in imprisoning them before trial.” [NYT, Sept. 18, 2007]
In other words, Mukasey may not be the favorite of “movement conservatives” who want an Attorney General who will push their “social issues,” but the retired judge with close ties to former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani will give Bush what he wants most: a political ally to defend his vision of a President with nearly unlimited powers.
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=22288
By singling out “freedom from the fear of terrorist attacks” as the only identified “right” in the statement, Cheney indicated where he and the President put their priorities – on protecting Americans from the remote personal threat that they might be harmed in a terrorist attack, forget the niceties of civil liberties and the rule of law.
As a federal judge, Mukasey demonstrated that he was on board.
Describing his selection process, the New York Times wrote that “a review of his record shows that he would defend the administration on the issue that matters most to the President, national security. [Mukasey] has repeatedly spoken out to support the administration’s claim to broad powers in pursuing terrorist threats, especially in conducting electronic surveillance of terrorism suspects and in imprisoning them before trial.” [NYT, Sept. 18, 2007]
In other words, Mukasey may not be the favorite of “movement conservatives” who want an Attorney General who will push their “social issues,” but the retired judge with close ties to former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani will give Bush what he wants most: a political ally to defend his vision of a President with nearly unlimited powers.
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=22288
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