I don’t know about you, but I sure am tired of hearing about the ‘first’ black this and the ‘first’ black that. Hey… If no one has noticed then grab this clue. A person’s race DOES NOT MATTER any longer. A BLACK has made it to the big show, big dance, top dog, big cheese… We can stop all the slothfulness of categorizing political firsts by race.

Unless… Of course you’re trying to push an agenda that would normally be knocked out of the box based solely on experience alone… Thanks Media Bias!

It would be like me saying, G.W. Bush, the last WHITE president. Nuff said?

It’s so nice to see that Washington will be business a usual.

Will Clinton pardon of tax fugitive haunt Holder?
By LARA JAKES JORDAN

and

MATT APUZZO

Associated Press Writers

WASHINGTON (AP) — The first black man elected U.S. president is poised to name Washington lawyer Eric Holder as the nation’s first black attorney general — a historic appointment but one with some potential political problems over a 2001 pardon.

Holder, 57, met President-elect Barack Obama only four years ago, but the affable Bronx-born son of a Barbados immigrant quickly won a seat in the Democrat’s inner circle. If he becomes the next chief U.S. law enforcement officer, Holder will try to win back the public’s confidence in the Justice Department — an agency whose fiercely independent image was tarnished by GOP political meddling during the Bush administration.

“Internally, there is a morale problem the likes of which I have never seen before,'’ Holder said in an interview late last year. “Externally, there is a crisis of confidence that the nation has with regard to the department.'’

Holder’s nomination is expected to be formally announced as soon as this week. He did not return messages seeking comment Tuesday, even though an Obama official and two Democrats in touch with his transition team confirmed that he is the top choice for attorney general.

Holder helped lead the team that selected Sen. Joe Biden as Obama’s running mate. Throughout his career as a judge, a prosecutor and a defense attorney for the prestigious law firm Covington & Burling, Holder’s independence rarely has been questioned. But one of his final acts as President Bill Clinton’s deputy attorney general in 2001 could come back to haunt him as he seeks Senate confirmation for the Justice Department’s top job.

On the last day of Clinton’s term, Holder told the White House he was “neutral, leaning toward favorable'’ for a presidential pardon for Marc Rich, a wealthy commodities dealer who had spent years running from tax charges. Rich’s ex-wife, Denise, was a prominent Democratic Party donor.

It turned out to be a bad call. The pardon provoked howls of protests and a congressional investigation over whether it was politically motivated. Holder later publicly apologized for what he called a snap decision and said he would have advised against it had he paid more attention to the case.

Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will vote on Holder’s nomination, said the pardon “would be a factor to consider.'’

“I wouldn’t want to articulate it among the top items but it’s worthwhile to look at,'’ he told reporters Tuesday, adding that it is “too soon for me to say'’ whether Holder would be a satisfactory attorney general.

Added Sen. Jeff Sessions, a conservative Republican from Alabama: “I like him and I would hope that nothing comes up that would jeopardize his nomination if he were nominated. But he’ll have to answer questions and his record will speak for itself.'’