Obama's AG pick

Glenn Greenwald reports on the selection of Eric Holder to serve as Attorney General in the Obama administration. Glenn's assessment is mostly favorable, although he does note that Holder initially agreed with the Bush Administration's assertion that the prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay were not entitled to the protections of the Geneva Conventions.

It appears, however, that Holder has come around. In a speech at the American Constitution Society's 2008 National Convention, Holder:

* emphasized the importance of adhering to the rule of law even, perhaps especially, in dangerous times;
* called the Guantanamo Bay prison "an international embarrassment" and called for it to be shut down and all prisoners given expedited due process, and released if appropriate;
* called for an end to torture and extraordinary rendition;
* condemned warrantless wiretapping; and 
* called out the Bush Administration for basing its policies on fear and abandoning the values America is supposed to stand for.

It was a strongly pro-civil-liberties, pro-human-rights, and pro-America speech. I don't think we can always assume that an appointee's views are indicative of the policies that the new president plans to implement; I don't, for instance, believe that Hillary Clinton's preferred foreign policy agenda will be the one pursued by President Obama.   I think (I hope!) she was chosen for her political skills and good relationships with our allies rather than for ideological reasons.  On the other hand, the views Holder expressed to the ACS are largely consistent with those Obama campaigned on.  I'm hopeful that this signals a new direction for Justice -- and justice -- under the Obama administration.