Bush announced his new Attorney General nominee on Monday: Michael Mukasey. The nominee, who might actually be acceptable for both Democrats and Republicans, met with Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) yesterday. Leahy, who will preside over Mukasey's confirmation hearing as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, made positive comments about the meeting.

But Leahy is not forgetting the Gonzales scandal, or, as he calls it, "the dark period". He signaled that before the nominee can be considered, Gonzales' involvement in the U.S. attorney firings and the administration's warrantless wiretapping program needs to be resolved.

In other words: it might take a while until we see a new Attorney General.

As you may already know, President Bush today signed into law the bill that keeps the expiring portions of the Voting Rights Act on the books for another 25 years.

But what's been more surprising has been the speed with which the bill moved through the Senate last week. That story illustrates how Congress can do amazing things in an election year.