In every U.S. president’s administration, there is always some kind of in-fighting that spills out into the public domain and now a battle royale is shaping up between President Barack Obama’s senior adviser David Axelrod and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.

The two are set to duke it out over who has done the most to contribute to the Mustached American way of life — and no, it’s not the contest of who has the best mustache (Ax might just win that between the two of them if that were the case).

“Axelrod and I both went to Stuyvesant high school in New York and I got an alumni magazine or print out or something that showed us mustache-less in high school,” Holder said.

The organization behind the award, the American Mustache Institute, says that Holder is the first mustached attorney general in more than 100 years.

“I was actually going to shave mine during the course of the summer. My kids told me not to and now I think I should have followed my gut,” Holder told reporters. “I’d be honored to have that award but it’s nothing I’m pining for.”

They aren’t alone in the contest, other nominees include the pilot who safely landed a damaged US Airways plane on the Hudson River earlier this year, Chesley Burnett (Sully) Sullenberger, CBS correspondent Bill Geist, and Dan Snarr, the mayor of Murray City, Utah, among others.

Voting ends Oct. 20 on the American Mustache Institute’s Web site with the winner announced Oct. 30 at the ‘Stache Bash 2009 in St. Louis.

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Reuters/Tim Shaffer (Axelrod at a pre-inaugural ball in January)

Reuters/Rick Wilking (Holder speaks to law enforcement authorities in Denver.)

Say what?

Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales threw folks for another loop on Thursday by saying he doesn’t really support further investigation of CIA prisoner abuses after all.

That was after the earlier loop when he said he did not see a problem with investigating interrogation methods that ran over set boundaries.

He explained in a second interview with the Washington Times that what he really meant in his first interview was that he doesn’t really back the decision last week by current Attorney General Eric Holder to launch a review.

“I don’t support the investigation by the department because this is a matter that has already been reviewed thoroughly and because I believe that another investigation is going to harm our intelligence gathering capabilities and that’s a concern that’s shared by career intelligence officials and so for those reasons I respectfully disagree with the decision,” Gonzales told the newspaper.

(Sounds like the rollercoaster ride is back on the conservative track.)

Just three days ago, Gonzales said on the newspaper’s radio program “America’s Morning News” that the Bush administration set rules and parameters for interrogating terrorism suspects and that Holder appeared to only be focused on the 1 percent of those who went beyond the approved techniques.

And then he added that if interrogators went outside the approved limits, “I think it is legitimate to question and examine that conduct to ensure people are held accountable for their actions, even if it’s action in prosecuting the war on terror.”

Those remarks won praise from human rights groups and caused some head-scratching among conservatives, especially since Gonzales was considered a loyal soldier to former President George W. Bush, serving as the White House counsel and attorney general when the interrogation methods were developed and used.

But Gonzales called the Washington Times back on Thursday to say that he actually did not support Holder’s decision but rather his right to order the investigation, nothing more.

“I’m just saying I would have exercised my discretion in a different manner, given the information I have,” Gonzales said, adding that the matter had already been examined and that no further investigation was warranted.

“It’s no different than when a police officer sees someone perhaps speeding, there is discretion in the law enforcement community, given the circumstances, whether to investigate or to prosecute,” he told the newspaper. “And again this is a matter that has already been looked into thoroughly.”

Sounds like someone got the talking points memo between interviews…

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- Photo credit: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst (Gonzales being sworn in during congressional testimony in 2007)

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has been under fire in some circles for naming a special prosecutor to investigate alleged abuses of prisoners by CIA interrogators or contractors, but on Tuesday he got some unexpected support from a former Bush administration official.

Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales who oversaw the Justice Department or was White House counsel during the period when some of the controversial interrogation techniques were authorized — such as lengthy sleep deprivation and repeated waterboarding – in a radio interview backed Holder’s decision to review the cases that went outside the limits set.

“We worked very hard to establish ground rules and parameters about how to deal with terrorists,” Gonzales said in an interview with The Washington Times’ “America’s Morning News” radio show.

“And if people go beyond that, I think it is legitimate to question and examine that conduct to ensure people are held accountable for their actions, even if it’s action in prosecuting the war on terror.”

In new details released last week from a CIA inspector general report, among the most controversial interrogation methods were brandishing a gun in front of a prisoner, using  a power drill to intimidate a blindfolded prisoner, and threatening to hurt their families.

Gonzales said that despite the potential “chilling effect” the probe could have on CIA officers seeking intelligence during interrogations, those who went beyond permitted interrogation techniques should be investigated.

He also said that he believed that Holder was only concerned about those who went beyond approved techniques.

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Photo credit: Reuters/Larry Downing (Attorney General Eric Holder)

Tributes to Senator Edward Kennedy are pouring in after the 77-year-old pillar of the Democratic Party lost his battle with brain cancer. A schedule of events to remember the “Lion” of the Senate will be posted on www.tedkennedy.org as arrangements are finalized.

Here are some of the tributes and lessons learned from Kennedy’s statesmanship.

Crossing party lines: “The Kennedy name is synonymous with the Democratic Party.  And at times, Ted was the target of partisan campaign attacks.  But in the United States Senate, I can think of no one who engendered greater respect or affection from members of both sides of the aisle,” President Barack Obama said. “He could passionately battle others and do so peerlessly on the Senate floor for the cause that he held dear, and yet still maintain warm friendships across party lines.”

Staying idealistic: “He and I were talking after his diagnosis.  And I said, I think you’re the only other person I’ve met, who like me, is more optimistic, more enthusiastic, more idealistic, sees greater possibilities after 36 years than when we were elected.  He was 30 years-old when he was elected; I was 29 years-old,” Vice President Joe Biden said of his former Senate colleague.

Inspiring others: “Every day I look at the portrait of his brother Robert that hangs in my office and I am reminded that the Kennedy family has shown to America, through its actions, the importance of fighting for what is right even in the face of difficult odds,” Attorney General Eric Holder said. “I would not be in the office I now hold were it not for their contributions and commitment to our nation.”

Keeping promises: “Many will recall his convivial nature, his humor, his thoughtfulness. We will praise as his greatest strength the integrity of his word. When he made a promise to you, he kept it, no matter what,” Republican Senator John McCain said.

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Photo credit: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque (flag over U.S. Capitol flies at half staff for Kennedy)

Even Attorney General Eric Holder calls it “controversial” — his decision to appoint a special prosecutor to look into prisoner abuse cases involving CIA interrogators and contractors.

He picked career federal prosecutor John Durham, who was already investigating the CIA’s destruction of interrogation videotapes. While he’s not exactly a  household name, the investigation has only just begun.

Other former special prosecutors were relatively obscure at the start and then launched into the limelight — remember Ken Starr of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal and Patrick Fitzgerald who investigated the outing of Valerie Plame.

The White House says President Barack Obama, who previously said he wanted to look forward not backward, had left the decision of going the special prosecutor route totally up to Holder.

Supporters of the investigation see it as a way for the United States to regain the moral high ground on torture issues. Opponents say it makes the United States look weak and will make the CIA more risk-averse and hurt national security.

“It could in the long-term strengthen the notion that the United States made some mistakes but we’ve corrected certain practices, and now we’re continuing to combat terrorism in a way that’s closer to the principles on which our country is founded,” Stephen Flanagan of the Center for Strategic and International Studies says.

A former intelligence official said: “When Osama bin Laden hears about it, he may die laughing.”

What do you think? Is appointing a special prosecutor a good idea?

Photo credit: Reuters/Larry Downing (CIA headquarters lobby)

(UPDATE: clarifies first two paragraphs about Holder talking to prosecutors)

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder had some pointed words for prosecutors on Wednesday after the fumbling of the corruption case against former Republican Senator Ted Stevens that the government ultimately had to drop because evidence was withheld from the defense team.

He warned government lawyers at a conference that the case had threatened to undermine the Justice Department’s credibility for providing defendants all the material against them as required by law.

“Our adversarial system for criminal trials can only result in justice if the discovery process is conducted by the government fairly, ethically, and according to the rule of law,” Holder said at a National Black Prosecutors Association luncheon in Memphis.

He said that the agency was reviewing its compliance and that “we will correct any errors and we will see to it, once again, that justice is our primary goal.”

In October a federal jury found Stevens guilty of seven counts of lying on a Senate disclosure form to conceal $250,000 in gifts and home renovations from an oil executive and other friends.

In one of his first decisions after being confirmed as President Barack Obama’s chief law enforcement officer, Holder ordered the case against the long-time Alaska senator be abandoned after a review showed that prosecutors did not turn over to the defense information that could have helped Stevens’ case.

Stevens was the longest-serving Republican in the U.S. Senate before he lost his seat in the 2008 election — a loss some conservative Republicans have blamed on the prosecution. Democrat Mark Begich won the seat in a narrow victory.

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- Photo credit: Reuters/Larry Downing (Holder at a news conference last month)

Must be playing all that hardball by President Barack Obama’s administration.

Attorney General Eric Holder becomes the second Cabinet official to miss travel after breaking something.

Holder, the country’s top law enforcement official, cracked a tooth last night and missed a trip to Aspen, Colorado, where he had been scheduled to attend the “Aspen Ideas Festival” on the eve of a long weekend for the Fourth of July holiday.

His injury follows Secretary of State Hillary Clinton breaking her right elbow two weeks ago and she is missing a trip to Moscow with Obama next week.

After cracking the tooth last night, Holder went to the dentist this morning and was ordered to have emergency oral surgery to immediately remove the offender from his pearly whites.

A Justice Department spokesman said because of the surgery, Holder was prohibited from flying for four or five days. No word yet on which tooth or how he cracked it — only that it hurt.

UPDATE JUST IN: Attorney General’s molar was removed in a 75-minute procedure (OUCH!) ”He’s resting comfortably and I don’t think he’s outside doing yardwork,” a Justice Department spokesman said.

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Photo credit: Reuters/Yuri Gripas (Holder at a congressional hearing in April)

WASHINGTON — What a difference a few days can make in the rough and tumble world of American politics, particularly in the U.S. Capitol. Just ask Eric Holder, President-elect Barack Obama’s pick to be U.S. attorney general. 
 
Last week, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell named Holder as the only one of Obama’s Cabinet nominees in possible trouble. 
 
There was Republican concern about Holder, particularly his decision, while President Bill Clinton’s deputy attorney general, to back a pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich. 
 
But after receiving rave reviews at his Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday, Holder seems certain to be confirmed. 
 
Under questioning, Holder admitted he erred in the Rich matter, broke with the Bush administration to call waterboarding “torture” and vowed to run a Justice Department free of political meddling. He also promised to make fighting financial crimes a top priority. 
 
At least two Republicans said afterward that they intend to support him, which should provide enough votes in the Democratic-led Senate to clear any procedural roadblock. 
 
Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, reiterated his support for Holder, predicting he would be a strong attorney general. 
 
And on Friday, Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida came out for Holder after what he described as “a very productive meeting with him.” 
 
“I adhere to the principle that, assuming qualifications, a president gets to choose the members of his Cabinet,” Martinez said. 
 
“Mr. Holder answered a number of questions to my satisfaction,” Martinez said. “I intend to support Mr. Holder’s confirmation and urge my colleagues to do the same.”

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Photo credit: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (Holder stands to be sworn in for his Jan. 15 confirmation hearing)

At least one key member of Barack Obama’s Cabinet could be ready to be sworn into office just hours after Obama takes the oath as president on Jan. 20.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy says he’ll hold confirmation hearings early next month on Obama’s choice of Eric Holder to be the nation’s top law enforcement officer — attorney general.

Speaking to reporters after a private meeting with Holder, Leahy called the former Clinton administration deputy attorney general “a superb man” and “a prosecutor’s prosecutor.”

Leahy said he expects Republicans on the Judiciary Committee to press Holder on his role in former President Bill Clinton’s pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich just before Clinton left office in 2001. Karl Rove, an ex-aide to President George W. Bush recently “gave marching orders” to do so, Leahy said.

At the time Clinton issued the pardon, Holder said his view toward it was “neutral, leaning toward favorable.”

While living abroad, Rich was indicted in 1983 on charges of tax evasion and illegal trading with Iran. Rich’s wife was a large contributor to the Democratic Party and to the presidential library that was being built to house Clinton’s papers.

If confirmed by the Senate as expected, Holder would become the first black U.S. attorney general and head of the Justice Department, which was rocked by scandal during the tenure of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

With the next Congress set to convene on Jan. 6, Leahy said Holder’s confirmation hearing likely would be held the first week lawmakers are back, with the goal of a Senate confirmation vote on Jan. 20, the same day Obama is to become the 44th U.S. president.

The 57-year-old Holder is a former D.C. Superior Court judge whose good looks often set jurors’ hearts aflutter.

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Photo credit: Top: Reuters/John Gress (Holder listens as Obama announces his national security team Dec. 1 in Chicago); Bottom: Reuters/Larry Downing (Holder meets with Leahy on Capitol Hill Dec. 8  )

Please sir, can I have some more? CEOs of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler make their case for a $25 billion bailout to the House of Representatives, one day after enduring a skeptical reception in the Senate. A vote could come as early as today, but Senate backers say they might not have the support they need.
 
Testimony to the House Financial Services Committee gets underway at 10 a.m.
    
In Chicago, President-elect Barack Obama continues to assemble his administration. Eric Holder, a former Justice Department official under President Bill Clinton, emerged yesterday as a possible pick for attorney general, while the Wall Street Journal reports that Clinton himself offered to submit his future charitable and business activities for ethics review if wife Hillary is tapped for Secretary of State.

Formal announcements could come on Friday, a source tells Reuters.   
   
In the Senate, Democrats have edged closer to a critical 60-seat majority after Anchorage, Alaska mayor Mark Begich declared victory over incumbent Republican Ted Stevens, a convicted felon. That gives Democrats control of at least 58 seats, with races in Georgia and Minnesota still hanging in the balance.
 
A recount in the Minnesota race between incumbent Republican Norm Coleman and Democratic challenger Al Franken, a former comedian, begins today. Franken himself si making the rounds in Washington to raise money and huddle with his fellow Democrats.

For a change, the stock market is not expected to get off to a dismal start today. Hewlett-Packard’s reassuring quarterly results and profit outlook are expected to offset worries about the deeping global economic slump.
   
And finally, Happy World Toilet Day! The advocacy group Water Advocates says 2.5 billion people don’t have access to a toilet, leading to millions of preventable deaths each year from exposure to human waste. The group holds an event in front of the Capitol at 12:30 p.m. to draw attention to the problem.