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COLUMBIA, S.C. - President Bush, worried about losing his fight to get
Michael Mukasey installed as attorney general, pleaded again Friday
for confirmation despite the former judge's refusal to be pinned down
on the legality of waterboarding.
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"He's a good man. He's a fair man. He's an independent man, and he's
plenty qualified to be attorney general," Bush said of Mukasey, just
after landing here.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a member of the Judiciary Committee who is
backing the embattled judge, joined Bush on a South Carolina airport
tarmac for the presidential statement.
It was the second day in a row that Bush has pleaded with senators to
approve the man he chose to succeed Alberto Gonzales as the nation's
top law enforcement official.
A day earlier, Bush warned that the Justice Department would go
without a leader in a time of war if Democrats thwarted Mukasey. The
president was in South Carolina to help raise money for Graham's re-
election and make a speech about the war against terrorism.
Bush said Thursday that if the Judiciary Committee were to block
Mukasey because of his noncommittal stance on the legality of the
interrogation procedure that simulates drowning, it would set a new
standard for confirmation that could not be met by any responsible
nominee for attorney general.
Graham's public vow of support in the president's company came as
opposition continued to grow in the Senate.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., on Thursday became the fourth of 10
Democrats on the 19-member Judiciary Committee to declare he would
vote against the former judge when the panel decides Tuesday whether
to endorse or reject Mukasey.
Kennedy said that Mukasey's unwillingness to equate the interrogation
practice of waterboarding with torture increases the chances that it
will be used against U.S. troops.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., planned to announce
Friday in his state how he will vote next week.
There is a way for Mukasey to get a full Senate vote even if committee
Democrats are united in opposing him. The Senate Judiciary Committee
could agree to advance the nomination with "no recommendation,"
allowing Mukasey the chance to be confirmed by a majority of the 100-
member Senate. Several vote-counters in each party said Mukasey
probably would get 70 "yes" votes in such a scenario.