Barack Obama Picks Eric Holder as Attorney General in his Incoming Administration

Yep, I can see it now, the critics will have a field day with President-elect Barack Obama's selection of Eric Holder as the next attorney general. But we can be rest assured that the names of John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales ,(who was indicted, along with VP Dick Cheney by a South Texas grand jury on state charges related to the alleged abuse of prisoners in Willacy County's federal detention centers), will be thrown in the faces of all the Republicans who beg to differ. According to Newsweek Magazine, which broke the story, Mr. Holder is a veteran Washington lawyer and his appointment will be a historic one. He will be the first African-American to head the Justice Department. Holder, who served as deputy attorney general during the Clinton administration, still has to undergo a formal "vetting" review by the Obama transition team before the selection is final.

According to the Huffington Post, Holder, 57, has been on Obama's "short list" for attorney general from the outset. A partner at the D.C. law firm of Covington & Burling, Holder served as co-chief (along with Caroline Kennedy) of Obama's vice-presidential selection process. He also actively campaigned for Obama throughout the year and grew personally close to the president-elect.

According to the Huffington Post, more details about Holder:

Holder and Obama have been friends since they hit it off at a dinner party in 2004. He is the consummate Washington insider -- a familiar fixture in the Clinton administration, but well-known to Republican administrations as well. Best known as a prosecutor, Holder was fresh out of law school when he was assigned to the newly formed public integrity section of the Justice Department. There, he helped prosecute several high-profile defendants, including a judge, a diplomat, an assistant U.S. attorney and a leading organized crime figure.

President Reagan nominated him to a D.C. judgeship and he was later tapped by President Clinton to serve as D.C.'s U.S. attorney. In 1997, Clinton elevated him to the No. 2 job in the Justice Department, and he briefly served as acting attorney general in the Bush administration while nominee John Ashcroft was being confirmed. In 1999, Holder helped convince Republicans to scrap independent counsel investigations, successfully arguing before Congress that wrongdoing by public
officials can, and should, be handled by the Justice Department. And should he be tapped as the nation's chief law enforcement official, Republicans may ask him to revisit that.

According to the Washington Post, some basic facts about Holder:

Credentials: Former judge, D.C. Superior Court; former deputy attorney general in the Justice Department; former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.

What he offers: Holder has extensive experience in the criminal justice system and with civil court disputes. He staunchly backed community policing programs to reduce violent crime and raised morale within the Justice Department during his tenure. Holder served as a co-chairman of the Obama presidential campaign.

Vetting: Holder took flak in 2001 for failing to object to a last-minute pardon request for fugitive Marc Rich, whose ex-wife is a prolific Democratic Party donor, when others in the Clinton administration pushed through the petition during its last hours in office.

The only beef I have with this alleged selection is that we have another person connected to the Clintons. It seems that no matter what, their names keeps popping up. So before the Republicans get up in arms about this, they should remember that Mr. Holder was nominated to judgeship by Ronald Reagan. As far as seemingly questionable transactions go, just recall the shenanigans of Alberto Gonzales, a Bush appointee.