Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) "took to the airwaves Sunday to defend Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, "but even though Gonzales’s future hangs in jeopardy over the dismissals of eight U.S. attorneys, the Utah Republican seemed shocked when NBC”s Meet the Press host Tim Russert suggested President Bush might ask Hatch to take over as attorney general," the Wall Street Journal reports.
"After insisting on the unlikely odds of such an event, Hatch said 'it’s up to the president,' but if duty called, “I would serve this country any way I could.”
However, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), "the Judiciary Committee chairman who would preside over confirmation hearings for a new attorney general, didn’t seem to think it was so farfetched," saying, "The rumor on the Hill this week was that he was actively running for it."
Read the transcript.
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2007/04/02/hatch_eyes_attorney_general_job.htmlSupposing that Hatch does become Attorney General and there was a special election for his seat, could Matheson run for it and be competetive?