After President George W. Bush announced his nomination of Michael B. Mukasey to replace Alberto Gonzales as the next U.S. attorney general yesterday, local politicians and campus political groups said the choice was a step in the right direction.
Mukasey has received praise from both political parties for his "thoughtful and fair handling" of past high-profile terrorism-related cases, according to a White House press release. If confirmed by the Senate, Mukasey would bring with him a lifetime of legal expertise as an attorney and as well as 18 years of experience as a federal judge.
"He has potential, but I'm cautiously optimistic," said Alex Weller, president of the Penn State College Libertarians. "While I like that he supported the right to a lawyer for enemy combatants in the case of Jose Padilla, his support for the Patriot Act concerns me."
Gonzales resigned from the attorney general position on Aug. 27 after an embattled tenure, including the controversial firing of eight U.S. attorneys.
President Ronald Reagan appointed Mukasey to the federal bench in 1987, where he served for more than18 years in New York, according to the press release.
While on the bench, he handled some of the nation's most important cases on terrorism. These included the trial of 10 defendants charged in plotting terrorists attacks in New York City and U.S. citizen Jose Padilla's challenge to his detention as an enemy combatant, according to the press release.
"Judge Mukasey has a flawless record on the federal bench and as a former Justice Department official," said Travis Windle, spokesman for U.S. Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa.
Yet, he still has a "rigorous process" ahead of him, said Abe Amoros, Pennsylvania Democratic Party spokesman, adding that the Senate will ensure that Mukasey continues to put the law first.
Democrats have seemed to welcome the nomination and see it as a "great choice" and a move toward a "new strategy," said Enrique Ortiz, president of the Penn State College Democrats.
"What this nomination demonstrates is that the president is weak, and there is growing importance of the Democratic Party right now," he said.
Windle said that while many Republicans had hoped Ted Olsen, the former solicitor general, would receive the nomination, the congressman is pleased with the nomination and hopes that Mukasey will "restore morale" at the Justice Department.
"The president's selection of Michael Mukasey to serve as the next attorney general is the right choice for our nation," he said on Peterson's behalf. "He fully understands the threats we face today and the need to protect the American people. I look forward to the Senate moving his confirmation forward expeditiously."
U.S. Rep. Kerry Benninghoff, R-Pa., said he did not know enough about Mukasey to comment on the nomination.
Suzanne Gold, a lecturer in political science at Penn State, said the announcement was a hesitant step forward.
"It's better than what we have now, that's the best way to put it," she said, "but, it's not necessarily about trying to appease the Democratic Party but rather trying to break away from the cronyism that the Bush administration is known for."
Though Brandon Means, chairman of the Penn State College Republicans, had not yet heard much about Mukasey or his nomination, he said "it was one of those situations where the president made a choice about who he feels is best to do the job."
Ortiz said it would be interesting to see if Republican presidential candidates like Fred Thompson, Mitt Romney and Rudolph Guiliani take this as an opportunity to distance themselves from the president.
Ortiz pointed out that, in the past, Mukasey and his son both worked on the exploratory committee for Guiliani's presidential campaign.
Weller, of the College Libertarians, said he hopes Mukasey would distance himself from the Guiliani campaign in light of his new appointment.
"It is [Mukasey's] job to remain non-partisan," he said.
