"Be a uniter, not a divider"

Since the resignation of embattled U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, speculation has run rampant in Washington as to who President Bush would nominate for the position. The presumed front-runner at this point is former Solicitor General Theodore Olson. Along with being the Solicitor General, Olson also is known for his role in the Arkansas Project, which was formed to damage and end the presidency of Bill Clinton, and also for his representation of George W. Bush in the 2000 Supreme Court case Bush v. Gore. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Judiciary Chairman PAtrick Leahy have both expressed their disappointment with the idea that Olson would be Bush's nominee. Senator Leahy said, "The only advice I gave to the White House was it would be a good time for the president to be a uniter, not a divider," he said. "There are many people who could do that. Mr. Olson is not one of those." Senator Reid expressed that he would do everything in his power to keep Olson's nomination from passing if that becomes necessary. When asked about the matter, White House Spokesman Tony Fratto, without confirming or denying anything about Olson's possible nomination, said that President Bush will send up the best nominee possible and asked the Senate to "set aside partisan politics long enough" to confirm the president's nominee. Now, the real question is, how is it possible that sending up a man for confirmation who participated in a movement to remove the last Democratic president from office and to assure that the next Democratic presidential candidate was not given office is not partisan politics? It would seem that if the president really wanted to nominate a person who would do the best job and not further divide the Senate, he would pick a moderate nominee who would please both sides. I'm so tired of hearing the term "partisan politics" come from the White House in reference to the Senate. Of course there's going to be partisan politics. It's called Washington, D.C. guys! However, the president himself could mediate this problem by not trying to push through a candidate who's one of his buddies and is not necessarily the best for the job. The names Michael Brown and Hariet Miers are brought to my mind. I just wish, if the president is going to go around accusing others of participating in partisan politics, he would step up and nominate someone who will do the best job and not tick off the majority of the senators. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.