Potential Attorneys General

Now that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has finally resigned, it is time to pick his replacement. I know all the chatter is about Michael Chertoff, but I'd rather focus on other potential nominees whose nomination would make things interesting. Some of these are very unlikely, but I'm just having fun with this.

• Sandra Day O'Connor: What would bring more trust back to the Justice Department than a former associate justice of the Supreme Court? She's considered a moderate, so her nomination would go through fairly easily. On the other hand she's 77 and retired from the court to be with her ailing husband, so there isn't much of a chance of her nomination happening.
• Joe Lieberman: If Bush nominates Lieberman the Republicans would win back the Senate. The "Independent Democrat" of Connecticut would be replaced by someone appointed by Republican Gov. Jodi Rell, making the Senate split 50-50, with Dick Cheney casting the deciding vote in favor of the GOP.
• Arlen Specter: The moderate Republican senator from Pennsylvania, a former chair of the Judiciary Committee, disagrees with President Bush on many issues, including legal matters. He'd be an interesting addition to the administration. His appointment would also add one Democrat to the Senate, appointed by Gov. Ed Rendell.
• James Baker: He's a veteran of the US cabinet, having served in various positions under Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, and a lawyer who helped the Bush team win in the Supreme Court in 2000, and thus in the election. He has a mixture of professional experience (though never as a prosecutor) and partisanship that would make for very interesting confirmation hearings. He's 77, and thus a bit unlikely to become the next AG.
• Patrick Fitzgerald: There is no chance in hell that Bush would nominate the special prosecutor in the Plame CIA leak case who indicted Scooter Libby, but still, I can fantasize, can't I?