Attorney General: Eric Holder

The first black American to be appointed as the nation's chief lawyer was born in the Bronx and is a close friend of Obama. Holder, 57, served as Deputy Attorney General under President Clinton and is one of the Washington insiders Sarah Palin is so fond of attacking. She won't be the only one: pundits suspect Holder will be the focal point of GOP assaults on Obama's new cabinet. The "big DC insider" has "already damaged his credibility on a presidential power issue," says Marcy Wheeler in the Guardian, reminding readers that he is the man responsible for the pardon of Marc Rich, the billionaire conman and fugitive fraudster, at the end of Clinton's rein. Politico says Republicans will also remind America that Holder generously advised Puerto Rican terrorist bombers about how they might achieve a pardon.

FIRST POSTED JANUARY 6, 2009