Not to defend Holder’s negligent sign-off, on the last day of the Clinton Administration, on the pardon of Marc Rich (everyone acknowledges it was a stupid thing to do, and a blot on what is otherwise a pretty darned solid career), but to my mind all the GOP and Right-wing Pundit hyperbolic outrage over the matter is grotesquely political, aiming to do three things:
- Poke Obama in the eye. Tarnish his reputation if they can do it.
- Get revenge on Bill Clinton.
- Distract from the egregious and far more pervasive politicization and manipulation of the Justice Dept. over the lastd eight years under the Bush Administration.
The latter is the key here, I think. I mean, fergoshsakes, the worst you can find on the guy is that he okayed a political-based pardon? While under the outgoing Administration, we’ve had sign-offs on torture, warrentless wiretaping, the firing of federal prosecutors for blatantly political reasons, and vetting of applicants for ideological purity?
Holder could be Barney Fife and he’d make a better AG than the yo-yos we’ve had running Justice for the last eight years.