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Generally Hatin' Hayden

Bush nominated Gen. Michael Hayden to be the head of the CIA on Monday. Let's just says that a lot of people are not happy with the nomination, myself included.

While much of the opposition has centered around his status as active military, what worries me more is his contempt for the Constitution and the rule of law. But perhaps that was the reason he was chosen. Willingness to skirt the law does seem to be a plus on one's resume in the Bush administration, as Countdown pointed out last night.

And not surprisingly given that some of the more comprehensive coverage of Bush's lawlessness has been reported by the Boston Globe, their editorial board agrees that Hayden's commitment (or lack thereof) to the rule of law is something Congress should focus on. I think this is especially important since we are talking about putting him in charge of an agency that has dabbled in torture, rendition, and secret prisons.

Couple all that with the potential for some of the same mistakes and abuses that got us into Iraq to be repeated on Iran and you can see why concern about his nomination is warranted (no pun intended).

Update: I wonder if this will be brought up at Hayden's confirmation hearings.