In Holder's Exit, a Vacuum

WASHINGTON -- Who'll be the next attorney general? Washington's favorite parlor game is filling Cabinet vacancies; I like playing as much as the next pundit. (Keep reading!) Still, the more telling question is: Why are we playing this game at all?

Why wasn't the White House, which knew for months that Holder was itching to leave, ready to roll with a successor? More important, given Holder's foot inching toward the door, why did it not time this departure more intelligently -- rather than having it arrive just before an election and the prospect of Democrats losing control of the Senate.

Once again, this being baseball playoff season, can't anybody here play this game? After six years, apparently not.

These questions matter not because of what they tell us about the Holder situation but because of what they say about President Obama and the operation he oversees.

For a year, the president knew that Holder wanted out. But, I am told, Obama thought he could convince the attorney general to stay. Holder is one of the few Cabinet secretaries whom the president wants to spend time with. Insularity combined with arrogance bred a belief that the brewing problem of Holder's departure would not materialize.

But it did, and with exquisitely bad timing. The Senate has left town. A lame-duck Congress could act, but, especially if the election goes in the dismal direction it seems to be heading for Democrats, the president's leeway is considerably constrained.

Adding to the poor timing is the poor planning. Failing to have a choice in place adds to the prospect that confirmation will have to await the next, likely more hostile Congress.

And trouble multiplies in a vacuum. Every constituency starts to angle for its preference, demographic or ideological. We need another African-American attorney general. It's time for the first openly gay attorney general. Holder was too liberal. Holder wasn't liberal enough on issues such as domestic surveillance and press freedom.

This is the lesson of filling a Supreme Court vacancy: Don't let it fester.

But while it festers, let's play. This is a game best conducted by process of elimination. The nominee has to be someone who's willing to take the job for two years, and most likely a politically unpleasant two years.

...continued

swipe to next page