It’s being widely reported that President Bush will nominate retired federal judge Michael B. Mukasey to be Attorney General. On the assumption that the reports are accurate, I’m going to offer a series of short posts today explaining why I regard Mukasey as a nominee whom conservatives should welcome. I intend in particular to address the questions and concerns that some have raised about Mukasey.

One note at the outset: I will not be comparing Mukasey, either explicitly or implicitly, to any of the other folks who have been reported to be in the running. I would be happy with any of the candidates on most of the “short lists” that I have seen. Especially after Senator Harry Reid’s cheap preemptive strike on Ted Olson, I would have welcomed the vigorous public debate that a battle over the Olson nomination would have produced.