I wasn’t going to post anything else on Mukasey, but come on guys and gals, there are gapping holes in what we know about him, and his supporters aren’t helping matters. Ed Whelen, a good friend who I admire deeply, tells us not to worry about Schumer and Aron’s support for him. But his short post over at Benchmemos doesn’t provide much to go on. And Andy, also a good friend who I admire deeply, makes a superb case for Mukasey’s credentials on national-security and law-enforcement grounds. But the attorney general is involved in a great many matters beyond those areas, including civil rights and judicial selection. I don’t minimize the importance of national security and law enforcement, of course, but I don’t minimize the importance of his other areas of responsibility, either. And I find no elucidation of his views or record on these matters that his supporters are willing to bring to us. Mukasey comes out of Giuliani’s office. He was endorsed by D’Amato and Moynihan for his district court judgeship. But conservatism is about more than national security and law enforcement. It’s an overarching philosophy that an attorney general brings to all his decisions. And let’s not fool ourselves. There was a candidate who was both a top legal mind and well-established conservative with years of experience at the Justice Department, and his name is Ted Olson. He was passed over for apparently practical and political reasons, including the fact that Schumer and Aron would oppose him (not to mention Reid). So, I am not prepared to delude myself into believing that Mukasey was the best choice. He may be acceptable, but that’s different.