Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, a Democrat, says his early assessment of President Bush’s nominee for Attorney General is positive. Bush has nominated Michael Mukasey to replace Alberto Gonzales. Harkin says it seems like Mukasey is a "fairly moderate mainstream individual."
Harkin says he wants to see how the nominee answers some questions about detention of prisoners and the legality of the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Harkin is not on the Senate Judiciary Committee which will hold confirmation hearings on Mukasey, but says he will listen closely to what the nominee has to say.
Harkin says it seems from the outset that Mukasey is a fairly mainstream, moderate Republican, and if that’s the case, he should not have trouble being confirmed by the Senate. Gonzales stepped down from the post last Friday, with one of his last officials acts being his first visit to Iowa Thursday to talk about efforts to catch on-line sexual predators.