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Washington lawyer Eric Holder has emerged as the top contender for the attorney general post in Barack Obama's administration, and key Senate staff members are fielding questions about how a potential Holder confirmation hearing could play out, ABC News has learned.

If nominated by Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Holder, 57, would be the first African-American attorney general. President-elect Obama has made it clear that Holder is his choice to run the Justice Department, transition team officials say, and staff members have been reviewing Holder's background before he receives an official offer.

He served as the first black deputy attorney general, working under then-Attorney General Janet Reno during the Clinton administration.

While at the Justice Department, Holder was viewed as a centrist on most law enforcement issues, though he has sharply criticized the secrecy and the expansive views of executive power advanced by the Bush Justice Department.

But Holder could face some obstacles because of a controversial Clinton pardon and the Elian Gonzalez saga.

Holder faced criticism for not speaking up before Clinton's pardon of financier Marc Rich, who fled the United States after his indictment for tax evasion and tax fraud. Clinton critics claimed that campaign donations from Rich's ex-wife Denise could have influenced the decision.

Additionally, Holder was serving as deputy attorney general during the Elian Gonzalez debacle. Federal agents raided the Miami home of the 6-year-old boy's family as part of an operation to take him into custody and return him to his father in Cuba.

But sources told ABC News that signs favor Holder being confirmed.

Currently a partner at law firm Covington & Burling in Washington, Holder has also served as a federal judge, appointed by President Reagan, and he later became the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, nominated by President Clinton. He left that post to take the deputy spot at the Justice Department.

Earlier this year, Holder headed Obama's vice presidential search committee with Caroline Kennedy.

Although Holder has emerged as a front-runner for the attorney general spot, with Newsweek reporting that he has accepted the post pending a formal vetting process, the Obama transition team denied that report, saying that as of now, no job has been offered or accepted.

Legal sources also indicated to ABC News that others, including Gov. Janet Napolitano, D-Ariz., are in the running for the spot as the nation's top lawyer.

The man or woman who takes the spot as the nation's top lawyer will be saddled with many challenges, ranging from counterterrorism policies to a tide of financial investigations.

After the Alberto Gonzales era shook the department and demoralized staff across the country, righting the Justice Department will be no easy task.

Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine noted in a report last week that restoring leadership and confidence in the department is a top priority, after the scandals that swirled around Alberto Gonzales.

"The department's removal of the U.S. attorneys and the controversy it created severely damaged the credibility of the department and raised doubts about the integrity of department prosecutive decisions," Fine noted in his report.

During Gonzales' tenure, the department ousted at least nine federal prosecutors, a move lawmakers from both parties said was unfair or, at worst, smacked of political motivation.

Fine also wrote, "The department must coordinate effectively with the department's new leadership to accomplish an orderly and efficient transition. In addition to continuing to restore confidence in the department over the long run, the incoming attorney general must address in a timely way the serious challenges facing the department."

In a joint opinion-editorial published last month, Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Arlen Specter, R-Pa., the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, respectively, noted the recent problems that have plagued the department. "The flagship of our system of justice also faces a difficult road to rebuild trust after a crisis of leadership and conscience."

One pressing issue -- and a source of constant speculation -- is the future of the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention center, which houses detainees classified by the United States as "enemy combatants."

Both Obama and his Republican rival, Arizona Sen. John McCain, said during the campaign that they supported closing the facility. Some legal experts have called for moving the detainees into U.S. criminal courts. But the idea of admitting evidence in connection with detainees who are still security threats and who have allegedly been tortured remains a delicate and complex legal issue.

During a briefing Nov. 11, Obama transition chief John Podesta said, "Sen. Obama has said that he intends to close the facility at Guantanamo. That's a complicated matter. It's under review."

Other major counterterrorism issues that may be considered sooner rather than later include a review of the FBI's investigative guidelines that were revised by current Attorney General Michael Mukasey early last month to establish one set of rules for the FBI in national security and criminal investigations.

In December 2009, the Justice Department will also face the expiration of two provisions of the USA Patriot Act; one section deals with roving wiretap authority for terrorism and espionage suspects who use multiple phone lines, the other with the so-called "library provision," which allows the FBI to obtain business records without judicial approval.

What's more, significant changes could come to the department's Civil Rights Division and the Environmental Natural Resource Division, which have largely enforced the use of consent decrees and sought settlements instead of prosecuting cases.

It is unclear if the 93 U.S. attorneys who serve at the pleasure of the president will have staggered resignations or if many will continue to serve as acting U.S. attorneys. Some, such as Patrick Fitzgerald in Chicago and David Nahmias in Atlanta, are career Justice Department officials who could stay on in the next administration.

Besides chiefs for the various Justice Department components such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Drug Enforcement Administration, as well as sectors such as the Criminal and Antitrust Divisions, the department's recently established National Security Division will go through its first transition.

Although the assistant attorney general for national security is a political appointee, the key deputies for counterterrorism, intelligence and counterespionage are all career officials.

In anticipation of the transition and incoming new team of top lawyers, the department's components and divisions have created briefing books that, according to Justice Department sources, include information on key ongoing investigations and major policy initiatives.

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WASHINGTON -- President-elect Barack Obama sets foot in the Oval Office for the first time Monday when he meets President George W. Bush to discuss the transition of power at a time when the country is mired in a deep economic slump and fighting two wars overseas.

Bush invited Obama for the private sit-down talk, a rite of passage between presidents and successors that extends for decades.

The moment is sure to be steeped in history, as the country's first black president prepares to take office on Jan. 20 with Democrats firmly in control of the White House and both houses of Congress.

Bush and Obama are expected to review the nation's enormous economic downturn and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I'm going to go in there with a spirit of bipartisanship, and a sense that both the president and various leaders of Congress all recognize the severity of the situation right now and want to get stuff done," Obama said last week when asked about his meeting with Bush.

Obama won the presidency in an electoral landslide on Tuesday. He ran a campaign in which he relentlessly linked Republican opponent John McCain to Bush and presented his ideas as a fresh alternative to what he called Bush's failed policies.

Yet the tone changed almost immediately after Obama's win.

Bush, who had endorsed McCain, lauded Obama's victory as a "triumph of the American story." He warmly invited the Obama family to the White House.

Obama, in turn, thanked Bush for being gracious. The president-elect has made clear to the people of the United States and those watching around the world that there is only one president for now, and that's Bush.

Josh Bolten, Bush's chief of staff, said Bush and Obama will be the only ones in the room when they meet.

"I'm sure each of them will have a list of issues to go down," Bolten said, interviewed on C-SPAN by reporters from The Associated Press and The Washington Post. "But I think that's something very personal to both of them. I know the president will want to convey to President-elect Obama his sense of how to deal with some of the most important issues of the day. But exactly how he does that, I don't know, and I don't think anybody will know."

Obama and wife, Michelle, are set to arrive at the White House on Monday afternoon. Bush and first lady Laura Bush will greet them.

In a bit of pageantry for the cameras, the president and president-elect are to walk along the Colonnade and into the Oval Office.

Mrs. Bush and Mrs. Obama will meet privately, too.

Unlike the incoming president, Bush knew his way around the Oval Office by the time he was elected in 2000 -- his father had been president. Still, like many before them, President Bill Clinton and President-elect Bush had their own private meeting, keeping up a tradition that temporarily puts the presidency above politics.

Obama has been to the White House before, including an emergency leadership session to deal with the financial crisis in September.

But an Obama spokeswoman said the president-elect has never been in the Oval Office.
Once he sits behind the desk, the 44th president is expected to use his executive powers to reverse Bush administration policies on stem cell research, oil exploration and other issues.

John Podesta, who's handling Obama's preparations to take over in the White House on Jan. 20, said on Sunday that Obama was reviewing Bush's executive orders on those and other issues as he prepares to put his own stamp on policy after eight years of Republican rule.

"There's a lot that the president can do using his executive authority without waiting for congressional action, and I think we'll see the president do that," Podesta said. "I think that he feels like he has a real mandate for change. We need to get off the course that the Bush administration has set."

Use of executive authority is the quickest way for a new president to exert his power, given that passage of new laws by Congress can be a painfully slow process, even when the chief executive enjoys a legislative majority.

Podesta pointed specifically to two particularly controversial Bush executive orders as candidates for reversal.

"I think across the board, on stem cell research, on a number of areas, you see the Bush administration even today moving aggressively to do things that I think are probably not in the interest of the country," Podesta said.

Obama has supported stem cell research in an effort to find cures for diseases such as Alzheimer's.

Also, the federal Bureau of Land Management is opening about 360,000 acres of public land in Utah to oil and gas drilling, leading to protests from environmentalists.

"They want to have oil and gas drilling in some of the most sensitive, fragile lands in Utah," Podesta said. "I think that's a mistake."

Speaking on FOX television, Podesta said Obama was working to build a diverse Cabinet likely to include Republicans and independents -- part of the broad coalition that supported Obama during the race against McCain.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has been mentioned as a possible holdover.

"He's not even a Republican," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said on CNN. "Why wouldn't we want to keep him? He's never been a registered Republican."

In other transition matters, Obama's new chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, would not say whether Obama would return to the Senate for votes during the postelection session this month.

Obama's presence would be extraordinary, given his position as president-elect, especially if Congress takes up a much-anticipated economic stimulus plan.

"I think that the basic approach has been he's going to be ... in Chicago, setting up his economic, not only his economic team, but the policies he wants to outline for the country as soon as he gets sworn in, so we hit the ground running," Emanuel said.

During a coming lame-duck session, Congress will take up a second economic stimulus package in hopes of stopping the country's downward economic skid.

Obama said at his first postelection news conference on Friday that his priority on taking office was such a package that he would work to push through if Congress fails to pass the legislation or if should Bush veto it.

Emanuel would not commit to a Democratic proposal to help the failing American auto industry with some of the $700 billion approved last month by Congress to help the financial sector.

Valerie Jarrett, co-chair of the Obama transition team, told NBC television that Michelle Obama, the next first lady, would first focus on settling her daughters into their new life at the White House.

Then, Jarrett said, the next first lady wanted to help women juggling a career and motherhood, assist military spouses and promote volunteerism.

Meanwhile, Obama's name was invoked at church services nationwide on Sunday, but he didn't attend any of them. He went to the gym instead.

Obama does not have a church in Chicago since he severed ties in April with his longtime pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. His decision on which church to attend when he moves to Washington will undoubtedly be closely watched.

When he left Trinity United Church of Christ in May, Obama said his family would look for a new congregation. Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Sunday that the president-elect had not yet picked a church.

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The governor expresses hope that Proposition 8 would be overturned as protesters continued to march outside churches across California.

Reporting from Sacramento and Lake Forest -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Sunday expressed hope that the California Supreme Court would overturn Proposition 8, the ballot initiative that outlawed same-sex marriage. He also predicted that the 18,000 gay and lesbian couples who have already wed would not see their marriages nullified by the initiative.

"It's unfortunate, obviously, but it's not the end," Schwarzenegger said in an interview Sunday on CNN. "I think that we will again maybe undo that, if the court is willing to do that, and then move forward from there and again lead in that area."

With his favorable comments toward gay marriage, the governor's thinking appears to have evolved on the issue.

In past statements, he has said he believes that marriage should be between a man and a woman and has rejected legislation authorizing same-sex marriage. Yet he has also said he would not care if same-sex marriage were legal, saying he believed that such an important societal issue should be determined by the voters or the courts.

Schwarzenegger publicly opposed Proposition 8, which amends the state Constitution to declare that "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

On Sunday, he urged backers of gay marriage to follow the lesson he learned as a bodybuilder trying to lift weights that were too heavy for him at first. "I learned that you should never ever give up. . . . They should never give up. They should be on it and on it until they get it done."

The governor's position on the fate of the existing same-sex marriages aligns him with California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown, who has said he believes that the state Supreme Court will uphold the existing marriages as valid.

The 14-word constitutional amendment does not state explicitly that it would nullify same-sex marriages performed before the Nov. 4 election, although proponents say it will. Legal experts differ on this point.

Schwarzenegger's comments came as protesters took to the streets for a fifth day in a row, sometimes marching to Catholic and Mormon churches that supported passage of the ballot measure.

Hundreds of Proposition 8 protesters in Orange County gathered down the hill from Saddleback Church in Lake Forest as several thousand congregants attended services inside the sprawling religious campus.

Martijn Hostetler, 30, of West Hollywood held a sign that read "Purpose Driven Hate," a dig at the church's celebrity Pastor Rick Warren, author of the bestseller "The Purpose-Driven Life,"who backed the ballot measure. "I don't think Jesus would approve of a gay-marriage ban," he said. "I don't think God discriminates."

While demonstrators received supportive honks from motorists, many members of the mega-church said they had little sympathy for the protesters because the matter had already been settled by voters.

"We're a democracy and our strength is that the majority wins the vote," said John Kirkpatrick, a church member.

Sherrie Derriko, a longtime Saddleback Church member and hair salon owner from Mission Viejo, said she was bothered that protesters had targeted houses of worship. As she drove by, she rolled down her window to offer some advice.

"Read the Bible. God made man and woman, and that's what a marriage is," she called from inside her SUV.

Derriko recounted the incident after attending services. "When we saw them out there, we thought, 'Why are they not over this? Do they think they're going to change anything, or are they just stirring up trouble at our church?' "

But for Sally "Sal" Landers, 52, a Saddleback Church member from Lake Forest, her participation in the protest was a deeply personal matter. Landers and her female partner of three years plan to marry and adopt children. When she received an e-mail from Warren urging a "yes" vote on Proposition 8, she said, "I felt like I was kicked in the stomach by someone who loves unconditionally."

So on Sunday, Landers joined the protesters outside the church rather than the parishioners inside. "We really love him and respect his opinion," Landers said of Warren. "I need some reassurance that I'm welcome here as a gay American citizen."

Other protests were staged outside Mormon temples or churches in Oakland, Yucca Valley and other cities.

In downtown Los Angeles, 150 protesters congregated in front of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, chanting, among other things, "What would Jesus say?" The crowd was joined later in the day by protesters who marched from Lincoln Park on the city's Eastside.

Some churches, to be sure, assailed Proposition 8 as discriminatory.

"We will continue to bless same-sex unions here until we can legally celebrate same-sex unions again," the Rev. Ed Bacon told 1,000 congregants during Sunday services at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, which has blessed same-sex unions for 16 years.

After the service, Bacon and other clergy members held a news conference on the church steps. They were surrounded by gay and lesbian couples, some standing with young children.

"I know these couples. I know their relationships," Bacon said, addressing a phalanx of television cameras. "They should be celebrated, rather than disparaged. . . . In the eyes of God, these people are married."

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On Tuesday, Nov. 4, the nation’s major polling agencies were vindicated. Two of the most reliable polls, the Gallup and the Rasmussen, were almost spot-on with their predictions for the presidential election’s outcome. The final Gallup Daily poll among likely voters had Obama leading 53-42 percent and the final Rasmussen poll had Obama ahead 52-46 percent. Obama ended up winning the popular vote 53-46 percent.

In the months leading up to the election, some media pundits were predicting that the so-called “Bradley Effect” would render the polls inaccurate. They purported that a large group of Americans would be unwilling to vote for a black candidate, even if they agreed with him on most of the issues. Chris Matthews and a host of other talking heads had suggested that Obama needed to lead McCain by as many as eight points in the polls to finish tied in the popular vote.

They were wrong. And they owe an apology to the American people. The polls were accurate, Americans were not lying about how they planned to vote and Americans were not afraid to elect a black candidate to the most powerful office in the country. This achievement should be celebrated, regardless of one’s political affiliation. It is good to know that Americans vote based on their beliefs and concerns and that race is not an issue.

Even those who did not vote for Obama voted for a candidate who came from a historically underrepresented group: women. Sarah Palin’s gender was of no consequence to the election’s results, and it did not prevent Republicans from supporting her and voting for the McCain ticket. In fact, a Rasmussen poll on Nov. 4 even found that Palin was more popular with Republican voters than was McCain. Republicans based their votes on values, not prejudice.

In fact, there was only one ticket in this election that was composed of two white males - the Libertarian Party ticket. They received 0.4 percent of the vote, most of which was from actual libertarians. If Americans were truly too bigoted to vote for a minority or female candidate, then the Libertarian ticket would have seen a larger voter turnout.

America’s integrity did not change on Nov. 4, and it will not change on Jan. 20 when Obama takes office. Today’s America is the same one that has existed for the last three decades. Ever since the Civil Rights Movement of the ’60s, America has been one of the most diverse, open and tolerant societies in the world. But for whatever reasons, some people failed to acknowledge this fact until Tuesday’s historic events took place. And some will continue to deny it.

Let this be clear: There are bigots in America, and they will always exist. We need to continue to promote tolerance so that this small subset of people continues to shrink in numbers. But America is not a systemically bigoted country, and it was not a systemically bigoted country last week, last month, or last year. We live in the same America today that we lived in yesterday, and it is, and will continue to be, the greatest nation on this Earth.

The only change that will occur on Jan. 20 is that a new person will hold the presidential office. He will lead us and be a symbol of our nation for the next four years, and it is important for all Americans to rally behind him. We are all Obama supporters now. America is my country, and Barack Obama will be my president. I did not vote for him, and I still strongly disagree with him on most of the issues, but I will always stand behind him as the leader of our nation. When I find it necessary to oppose him, I will do so forcefully but respectfully.

I encourage all of my fellow Republicans here at UCSB to do the same. Now that the American electorate has had its say, we should put this past year of campaigning aside. We should not compromise our values or concede our positions, but over the next four years, we need to be continually supportive and as collaborative as we can be with President Obama.

After all, that’s exactly what a maverick would do.

fipu

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Clinton-Era Figure a Top Contender For AG

Monday, November 10, 2008

Obama to Get His First Look at the Oval Office

Schwarzenegger tells backers of gay marriage: Don't give up

A “Bradley Effect” Goodbye

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