Friends and associates of Eric Holder are now tripping over themselves to confirm to reporters that Holder is preparing to assume the top job at the Department of Justice.
In Old Washington, nominees were dead if they had no political constituencies: the left wouldn't going to defend Holder and the right would go bonkers.
In Old Washington, the onus would be on Senate Democrats to grill Holder about the episode; if they do so, sufficiently, it won't be a problem. If they don't, Republicans will have a cudgel to lord over Obama's Justice and national security policies.
Holder -- and the vice presidential vetting process -- survived the mini-maelstrom about the Rich pardons, over which Holder has publicly and privately agonized, it must be said, and actually had little to do with. He was brought into the process late, not having been fully briefed, and made a gut call, which turned out to be a bad call.
But being AG is different. Maybe Obama's Washington is different. Holder's views on torture, NSA wiretapping et. al. are crystal clear and quite rousing to the intellectual left. Maybe, in these times, an acknowledged error in judgment eight and a half years ago isn't close to being a disqualifier. Remember, Obama has at many times bemoaned the panopticon-like scrutiny that those who choose public service must survive, and he has shown a capacity for choosing competent individuals who've made major political mistakes before.
And President Bush's AG appointments weren't exactly shrinking violets in the controversy department.
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