New Attorney General Pick a Savvy Move

President Obama has finally managed to strike the proper political tone on something. His nomination of federal prosecutor Loretta Lynch is unlikely to ruffle the feathers of the lame duck Congress and should let the Justice Department operate with less political opposition. Like George W. Bush’s appointment of Michael Mukasey to replace the embattled Alberto Gonzalez, Lynch is likely to be a low‐​profile steady hand to replace the radioactive Eric Holder.


At the same time, picking the first black woman AG allows the president to further his diversity agenda without spending tremendous political capital (which he doesn’t now have) — in a way that wouldn’t have been possible with Tom Perez, the controversial labor secretary who was also thought to be a contender for the job. All in all, while I’m sure I’ll disagree with some of Lynch’s enforcement decisions, this nomination means that legal analysts’ focus will largely remain on those policy issues rather than the controversial personalities and politics behind them.