TPM has obtained a statement from Barack Obama's campaign regarding AG-designate Mukasey.
Statement below the fold.
"We urgently need an Attorney General who will check the vast and unconstrained executive powers that have been accumulated under the Bush-Cheney Administration. Judge Mukasey has failed to send a clear signal that he understands the legal and moral issues that are at stake for our country, and so I cannot support him.
"No nominee for Attorney General should need a second chance to oppose torture and the unnecessary violation of civil liberties. It's time to stop the political parsing and to close the legal loopholes. Waterboarding is torture, and so are other 'enhanced interrogation techniques' like 'head-slapping' and 'extreme temperatures.' It's time to reclaim our values and reaffirm our Constitution."
It is to be noted that Sen. Chris Dodd has earlier stated that he opposes Mukasey. So Obama becomes the second senator running for president opposing AG-designate. Here is the summary of what Obama said: No clarity on torture, no support.