Bush Administration Is On Its Way Back Up?

Just one month ago, the Administration was taking a beating over the situation at Justice. AG Gonzales had announced his plan to resign and speculation about his replacement focused on just how much Bush was going to have to compromise and how much trouble Congressional Democrats were going to make.

Things have changed. Michael Mukasey's confirmation hearings start on Wednesday and Chuck Schumer has already rolled over. Of course, now that Democrats have decided not to put up a fuss, they're saying that they were fine with Mukasey all along.

Given the vigorous discussion in the comments around here recently, I was struck by this from USA Today:

To political Washington, Mukasey embodies middle ground.

New York political scientist Doug Muzzio said many New York Republicans — Mukasey included — develop a hybrid conservatism that is a product of the city’s culture.

As New York’s mayor, Giuliani — Mukasey’s longtime friend — exemplified the moderate Republican, although he has become more conservative as a presidential candidate, said Muzzio, a professor at Baruch College, part of the City University of New York.

“I think there are nuanced differences about what a conservative is in New York, and, say, Arkansas,” Muzzio said. “In fact, it’s difficult to define what a New York Republican is because they are a rare breed.”

This is what the venom in the comments section is about: "New York conservatives" and "Arkansas conservatives." We're going to have to work it out if we want to win. Then we're going to have to somehow explain it to the purists.

posted by Gabriel Malor at 01:46 AM

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