Attorney General Michael Mukasey

From the Washington Post:

A divided Senate narrowly confirmed former federal judge Michael B. Mukasey last night as the 81st attorney general, giving the nominee the lowest level of congressional support of any Justice Department leader in the past half-century.

The 53 to 40 vote came after more than four hours of impassioned floor debate, and it reflected an effort by Democrats to register their displeasure with Bush administration policies on torture and the boundaries of presidential power.

The final tally gave Mukasey the lowest number of yes votes for any attorney general since 1952, just weeks after lawmakers of both parties had predicted his easy confirmation. Mukasey takes the place of Alberto R. Gonzales, who left under a cloud of scandal in September.

He avoided defeat only because a half-dozen Democrats voted in favor of the appointment along with Republicans and Democrat-turned-independent Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.).

Mukasey, 66, had outraged many lawmakers and human rights groups by repeatedly refusing to classify waterboarding, a simulated-drowning technique, as torture. His few Democratic supporters said last night that, although they are troubled by his equivocal views on waterboarding, they believe Mukasey represents the best possibility for change at the troubled Justice Department. "This is the only chance we have," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).

The other Democrats in favor of the confirmation were Sens. Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.), Evan Bayh (Ind.), Thomas R. Carper (Del.), Mary Landrieu (La.) and Ben Nelson (Neb.).

If the Democrats want to make a statement about waterboarding as a method of torture, why don't they?

If waterboarding is such a scourge on humanity, why don't the Dems outlaw its use?

Saying torture prompted the nation to "lose our way," Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) said the Justice Department's internal legal justifications for waterboarding and other aggressive interrogation tactics had cost the U.S. government its standing around the globe.

..."Torture should not be what America stands for," Leahy said. "How would our soldiers react if they found someone waterboarding another American soldier?"

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) said that "only an attorney general who's not afraid to speak truth to power" can lead the Justice Department.

If waterboarding has cost the U.S. government its standing around the world, then why don't the Dems act?

They keep yapping but they don't do anything about it.

And it bears repeating that Kennedy has no business talking about torture after how he handled himself in the accident that resulted in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne.

...Seven senators, including those running for president, did not vote. The late-night tally was thrown together unexpectedly after daylong negotiations between GOP and Democratic leaders.

Mukasey garnered the lowest number of yes votes among confirmed attorneys general since James P. McGranery, who was approved by a vote of 52 to 18 in 1952 during the Truman administration. The only recent competitor is John D. Ashcroft, who attracted 58 yes votes from the GOP-controlled Senate in 2001.

Yeah, the Dems are outraged over waterboarding.

Let them outlaw it. What are they waiting for?

I find their political posturing and insincerity sickening.