If Newsweek's Michael Isikoff is correct that Obama has offered Eric Holder the attorney general appointment, there will be musings about what will become of the two women rumored to have been on the shortlist for the job, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and Harvard Law School Dean Elena Kagan.
When it comes to Napolitano, whom I profiled for our July print issue, in-the-know Democrats will see this as for the best. If she were to leave Arizona before her term expires in 2010, the Republican secretary of state, Jan Brewer, would become governor. With Arizona seen as a key state in the emerging Democratic majority, national Democrats don't want this to happen. Instead, Napolitano will likely serve out her term and make a play for John McCain's Senate seat in 2010. (Yesterday, McCain said he is planning on running for re-election). Brewer will run for governor, possibly against Democrat Phil Gordon, the mayor of Phoenix. Another Arizonan with gubernatorial hopes is Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a Republican known for his harsh, almost nativist stance toward immigrants.
As for Kagan, she could still be tapped for a high-up Justice Department position, or potentially even the Supreme Court.
--Dana Goldstein
