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Emboldened Bush Aims At Confirmation Vote

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By DEB RIECHMANN, The Associated Press

Published: November 4, 2007

WASHINGTON - After two Democratic senators agreed to back his attorney general designate, President Bush on Saturday worked to seal the confirmation of Michael Mukasey.

"He is a man of character, and he had been praised by Republicans and Democrats alike for his honesty, intellect, fairness and independence," Bush said after a week of ups and downs in getting Mukasey confirmed amid a debate over waterboarding, which simulates drowning and is widely viewed as torture.

The retired judge has refused to say whether he considers the practice an illegal interrogation technique.

Bush used his weekly radio address to nudge Mukasey's nomination to the finish line, a day after Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., gave him a nod. Their backing virtually assured that the Senate Judiciary Committee would recommend his confirmation to the full Senate when it votes Tuesday.

Leaders in both parties expect Mukasey to get at least 70 votes when the entire Senate votes on whether to confirm him to succeed former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Nominated in September, Mukasey was initially considered a sure bet for confirmation until he repeatedly refused to say in Senate hearings whether he defines waterboarding as torture.

Democrats denounced the dodge, and the chairman of the committee, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said Friday he would vote against Mukasey.

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