So after the Olson trial-balloon abruptly sagged, Bush opted for the moderate New England Republican. Very simple. Or at least this is what the mainstream media would have you believe. But trust VDB, there are two very chilling issues trailing the Mukasey nomination for Attorney General.

Chilling Issue the First: Bush has slyly seated a hard-core loyalist as Acting AG, one Peter Keisler.

Keisler had, in fact, announced his resignation several weeks ago, but will now stay on in a singular capacity: he is designed to be so annoying to Democrats that they will seat Mukasey without getting satisfaction on their various requests for documents, witnesses, etc.

Not likely that Leahy will be taken in on this one, but Bush wouldn’t be Bush without trying it.

And Chilling Issue the Second: Judge Mukasey has apparently donated to only two candidates since retiring from the bench.

Either of these names would be chilling, but taken together, they really make VDB’s political spidey sense tingle.

The two: Rudy Giuliani and — yes, you knew it in your blood — Big Joe Lieberman.

We see it all, the grand plan, the vision, Rove’s final revenge.

Weeks before Giuliani takes the nomination, Big Joe switches parties; a grateful GOP accepts Lieberman as its VP nominee by acclamation; Lieberman works his smarmy magic on “values conservatives” and Florida retirees. Then, on Election Eve, amid vote-rigging allegations, Judge Mukasey steps in to halt all investigations until after the Supreme Court places Rudy in the White House.

And Big Joe in Dick Cheney’s old undisclosed location.

Fiendishly clever, but put nothing past Lieberman. It is no accident that he looks like a petulant two-year-old in the above photo. His post-2000 career has been based almost entirely on throwing tantrums and avoiding voter time-outs.

And starting wars, when he doesn’t get his nap.