WASHINGTON POST: The odd responses of the attorney general to the oil spill. “The Justice Department frequently finds itself handling both the civil and criminal aspects of an issue, and the attorney general obviously is in charge of both; there’s nothing improper about that. But because decisions to indict must be made without any political influence and without any regard to political consequence, the attorney general must take great care to avoid even the appearance of conflict.”

Doing things without political influence or calculation isn’t Holder’s forte, and it’s certainly not why he was hired.