Apparently to avoid a fight with Schumer and the other bluenecks in the Senate.

“President Bush has selected retired federal judge Michael B. Mukasey as his new attorney general, sources said yesterday, moving to install a law-and-order conservative at the Justice Department while hoping to avoid a confirmation fight with Senate Democrats.

The nomination of Mukasey, considered an authority on national security issues, could come as early as this morning, the sources said. The White House was already seeking over the weekend to tamp down concern in the conservative legal world about Mukasey’s views, assuring allies that he shares Bush’s views on executive power and the need for strong action against terrorists.”

I don’t know anything of Mukasey, but he’s getting heavy endorsement from those whom opinions I respect such as Andy McCarthy, Bill Kristol and others. ¬† The fact of the matter is that we need leadership at the DOJ now and we don’t have time, nor the intestinal fortitude on the Republican side to fight for Ted Olson.