Next Stop: Nirvana

By Dana Milbank
Thursday, October 18, 2007

The Senate Judiciary Committee was meeting yesterday to hear from attorney general nominee Michael Mukasey, but Chairman Pat Leahy's thoughts kept drifting to the mountains of Tibet.

"I don't mean to cut you off," Leahy told the long-winded Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), "but we're going to have to have a break because of the Dalai Lama."

Later, Leahy informed the nominee that he was calling a 2 1/2 -hour recess "for the presentation of the Congressional Gold Medal to His Holiness." Pronouncing himself a pal of the exiled spiritual leader, the Vermont Democrat explained that "a number of us who are friends of the Dalai Lama will want to be there."

Leahy reconvened the hearing after the award ceremony and reported that "His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, gave a very, very moving speech."

"Quite a day," agreed Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.).

Indeed it was. The holy man's presence on Capitol Hill lured President Bush to the Rotunda and turned the West Front into a Tibetan folk festival. So great were the Dalai Lama's powers that even the Judiciary Committee, famous for feuding, magically transformed itself into a garden of peace, love and understanding. The serene lawmakers showed only contentment with the man nominated to run the Justice Department.

"This combination of personal excellence, integrity, independence, hard work, commitment to the rule of law and our system of justice," Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said in introducing Mukasey, will "restore the morale and pride" of the Justice Department.

"You're one of the best," Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) declared.

"I also thank you for taking this position," added Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).

Mukasey, in turn, seemed determined to erase all the ill will -- pradosha, as the Buddhists call it -- between Congress and the administration.

"I want to assure you that, if confirmed, I will always appreciate and welcome your advice," he assured.

And: "I'm going to assure you that there isn't going to be any stonewalling."

And: "Partisan politics plays no part in either the bringing of charges or the timing of charges."

From the looks of bliss on the dais, you'd think Mukasey was wearing a saffron robe. "This is a much more responsive witness and nominee," said Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), a ferocious critic of Alberto Gonzales's Justice Department, "and I am grateful."

Ohmmm.

The calm suffused the hearing room as it became clear that there would be no conflict. A demonstrator from the left-wing group Code Pink played quietly with her camera strap. Audience members stretched, yawned and perused newspapers. Nina Totenberg of National Public Radio completed a crossword puzzle.

Part of Mukasey's magic came from the fact that senators were just relieved to see somebody -- anybody -- other than Gonzales, whose disastrous tenure at the Justice Department became a display of partisanship and incompetence. And Mukasey cut an unassuming figure: He wore big glasses, hunched over the witness table and swapped his leather chair for a mesh model with the operating instructions still dangling from it.

But Mukasey also enhanced his appeal with his eager determination to show space between himself and his predecessor.

Leahy asked about the memo justifying torture of terrorism suspects. "Worse than sin," Mukasey replied. "It was a mistake. It was unnecessary."

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) asked what he'd do if Bush wanted to do something unconstitutional. "I would have two choices," Mukasey replied. "I could either try to talk him out of it, or leave."

Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) inquired about politically motivated hiring and firing of U.S. attorneys. "I'm going to get in the middle of it very fast and stop it," the nominee vowed.

Feinstein asked whether Bush could take military actions without advising Congress. "The president would be, at the very least, unwise to undertake major initiatives without making sure that everybody's on the same page," he answered.

The heresies piled up. "There is no excuse," Mukasey said, for making gang violence less than a top priority. He said he would end Gonzales's blanket refusal to prosecute contempt-of-Congress cases. He declared that "unilateralism, across the board, is a bad idea." He promised a review of policies regarding detention, surveillance and torture. And he admitted that one claim of executive privilege by the Bush administration left him with a simple reaction: "Huh?"

Schumer asked him about a book by a former Justice Department official who is highly critical of the administration's legal policies. "I thought it was superb," the nominee raved. "I mean, talk about 'couldn't put it down.' I was in a way sorry when I finished it."

The senators were in bipartisan nirvana.

"A refreshing change," Schumer pronounced.

"I've grown in admiration of your fine record," Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) added.

"You seem to have the gifts and graces at this time to do the job," Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) agreed.

"I'm very impressed," concurred Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.).

Ohmmm.