Bob Barr on Eric Holder

I had a long talk with former Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr, mostly concerned with the timeline and high/low-lights of the campaign, but near the end I asked what he thought of attorney general-designate Eric Holder, who has come in for some criticism on this blog.

I have no problem with Eric Holder. I know him. I disagreed with him on some issues when he was with the Clinton administration and I was in the Congress… but, to me, Eric is somewhat different than the Clinton administration holdovers getting some of the other big posts. Being a lawyer and working at the Department of Justice—he's not a Clintonista policy type. Yes, he was associated with the Clinton administration as the U.S. attorney here in D.C, and then as deputy attorney general, but I wouldn't call him a Clintonista.

This is striking because Barr was one of the congressmen grilling Holder over the Marc Rich pardon in early 2001. Fast forward to 1:49 in this video.

Barr has largely moved on from that, and is even more positive about Holder than the leaders of the Drug Policy Alliance and Marijuana Policy Project. Barr was more concerned and surprised at Obama's apparent selection of Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State. "I think that is a lose-lose for Obama," Barr said. "I do not understand why he's doing that unless there's something going on behind the scenes."