McCaskill Would Support Talent For A.G.

At a stop on her farm tour in Rogersville Wednesday, Sen. Claire McCaskill said she could support former rival Jim Talent for U.S. Attorney General.

With national and Missouri blogs fluttering with speculation about Talent as a potential candidate to replace outgoing Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, I put the question to McCaskill: Could she vote to confirm her old opponent?

"I probably would. It's probably not my preference," McCaskill said, after pausing for a quick second. "Not because I don't think Jim Talent is a smart man, and a good lawyer. But he has no criminal experience whatsoever."

McCaskill said her top pick would be someone with a good amount of law enforcement experience. "This is about running the Department of Justice, and working with lifetime career prosecutors, the FBI and law enforcement officials. If this president wants to send a signal that he's done playing politics with the Department of Justice, I would highly recommend he nominate someone who has professional credentials in law enforcement," the junior Senator added.