Acting Attorney General, Michael B. Mukasey

This time last week, Barack Obama was making news by calling for the resignation/termination of Justice Department voting rights chief, John Tanner.  This week, Senator Ted Kennedy has asked acting Attorney General Michael Mukasey to review Tanner’s record and decide whether Tanner should be allowed to keep his job.

In a statement, submitted in writing to Mukasey, Kennedy said that Tanner’s assertion that photo ID requirements are actually unfair to whites because minorities do not survive to old age, shows “a shameful lack of understanding and sensitivity that is unacceptable in the person charged with enforcing the nation’s laws against voting discrimination."

This comes as Mukasey’s testimony at last week’s hearings before the Senate has shaken up what was expected to be a smooth confirmation process.  His views on executive powers during wartime and torture, in particular, raised eyebrows in the Senate.

So, will confirmation hinge on these issues?  Will Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s insinuations of trouble amount to more than just talk?  Will the Senate stand up to Papa and shoot down this nominee?

Probably not.  The position needs to be filled.  Once again Bush has created a crisis, and as always, the quickest fix is to just let him have his way.