Democrats, activists say don't replace Gonzales with another Bush 'crony'
 As news of Alberto Gonzales's resignation rocketed around the nation early Monday speculation soon settled on who would become his replacement.
Democrats and liberal activists clamored for a nominee from outside President Bush's inner circle, and administration officials say the search for a new nominee won't be a "long drawn out process," NBC News reports.
The top name on observers' lips was Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, whose agency was criticized following Hurricane Katrina, but no formal indication of who the new nominee would be emerged Monday afternoon. US News on Friday first reported speculation that Chertoff would replace Gonzales.
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) chairs the Judiciary Committee, which would have to approve any nominee before the Senate could formally confirm him or her. Leahy encouraged the Bush administration to work with him and other Senate leaders to put forward a suitable replacement.
“I’ve always said the Attorney General is not the Secretary of Justice,” Leahy told the Burlington Free Press. “He or she is the attorney of the United States. This is far different than any other cabinet position. It has to be outside of politics.”
The chairman previously said former Deputy Attorney General James Comey, who contradicted Gonzales's allegedly misleading testimony this spring, would make a good replacement for Gonzales, the Free Press reports.
Leahy would not share his thoughts on Chertoff, but another member of his committee criticized part of Chertoff's agency in what could be seen as criticism of the potential nominee.
"Under this attorney general, sadly, the Department of Justice had less credibility than even FEMA," Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) told reporters, referring to the disaster recovery agency within DHS that was widely criticized for its slow response to Hurricane Katrina two years ago.
Schumer said many committee members have "doubts" about Chertoff.
"The most important issue is rule of law first. And some people have raised questions, when Mr. Chertoff was in legal positions, was that the paramount issue. That's something that will have to be explored," he said. "So I would say there are a lot of questions about Michael Chertoff that will have to be answered. I wouldn't say yes, I wouldn't say no. It's an open book. It's possible, but it's hardly a slam-dunk. There are some names who could be a slam-dunk."
The New Yorker, who heads the Democrats' campaign organization in the Senate, did not offer any potential nominees.
Conservative scholars Robert Alt and Jonathan H. Alder warned that Chertoff confirmation hearings could open the door for Congress to revisit the administration's widely criticized handling of Hurricane Katrina, which ravaged New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in 2005. In that spirit, Crooks and Liars revisited Chertoff's post-Katrina appearance on Meet the Press.
In an appearance on Meet the Press earlier this year, Leahy said Sen. Orin Hatch (R-UT) was campaigning to become Gonzales's replacement, but his office denied he was seeking the job, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
"It's not going to happen," a Hatch spokesman says, although the newspaper notes Hatch has said he wouldn't turn down the job if the president asked.
An administration official told the Associated Press that Bush did not interview any possible replacements this weekend.
Bloggers and activists on the left pushed Democratic Senators to stand up to the administration and block the nomination of another "Bush crony."
"This is no time for another crony. ... The Senators who will advise and consent on the next nominee should insist that an independent, ethical nominee who will act on the rule of law and the evidence — and not the Bush WH political marching orders — be the only acceptable option," wrote Christy Hardin Smith at Firedoglake. "From this point forward, we must put independence and integrity back in the Department of Justice."
Bush said he was appointing Solicitor General Paul Clement to serve as interim Attorney General when Gonzales steps down Sept. 17. Clement is the fourth-highest Justice Department official and has defended the administration's policies in arguments before the Supreme Court. The AP describes him as "a meticulous, affable conservative with friends across the political spectrum."
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