Olson AG Nomination Could Spur Fight
President Bush is intent on choosing the right person to fill the job of attorney general rather than someone who could be easily confirmed, a senior administration official told the Wall Street Journal.
Increasingly speculation centers on Ted Olson, a former solicitor general whose wife died in the Sept. 11 attacks.
The senator who led the fight to remove Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told the New York Times that Olson is likely to spark opposition. “Clearly if you made a list of consensus nominees, Olson wouldn’t appear on that list,” said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. Olson represented Bush in the fight over the 2000 presidential election and has been accused of involvement in negative attacks on the Clintons.
The New York Sun notes that Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah told the Politico Web site that Olson is now the favored candidate. If Olson is indeed nominated, “Democrats may rue that they do not have Alberto Gonzales to kick around anymore,” the newspaper says. “The appointment of Mr. Olson would send a clear signal to Congress that President Bush is not about to go soft during his last 15 months in office.”
