Eric Holder Confirmed as Attorney General

Another milestone was reached today with the confirmation of Eric Holder as the nation's first African American Attorney General.

The Senate this evening confirmed Eric H. Holder Jr. as the nation's first African American Attorney General in a vote of 75 to 21, opening a new chapter for a Justice Department that had suffered under allegations of improper political influence and controversial policy decisions on wiretapping and harsh interrogation practices.

Holder, 58, will arrive at the Justice Department headquarters in Washington tomorrow for a swearing in ceremony and to greet some of the department's 110,000 employees.

"The need for new leadership at the Department of Justice is as critical today as it's ever been," said Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), the Judiciary Committee chairman, on the Senate floor this afternoon. "This confirmation is going to do a great deal to restore the morale and the purpose throughout the department."

So what's up with Republicans? Clearly, raising the obstructionist bar three fold during the previous Congressional term wasn't enough. Glad they weren't successful.