With U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' resignation coming earlier this week, the name of Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, is once again making several short lists for U.S. attorney general.
Sometimes veteran Washington, D.C., insiders' names are floated more as a compliment to that person than any real opportunity to be picked for this or that important appointment.
Certainly, President Bush wants to pick someone who could easily be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
And don't take all the noise coming from Capitol Hill about how this appointment could be divisive or held up for a long time.
True, Gonzales was a controversial appointee. And the U.S. Justice Department's upper echelons may be a mess and demoralized.
But few federal bosses had a tenure as controversial as Donald Rumsfeld's. Yet when Bush picked Robert Gates to replace Rumsfeld, Gates' nomination flew through the Senate.
So the argument that senators would be more comfortable with one of their own moving over to Justice doesn't hold a lot of water.
Rumors are flying around Utah political circles about who would be picked by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. to temporarily replace Hatch, should the 73-year-old senator be tapped by Bush and accept the Justice Department job.
Huntsman, of course, has taken himself out of the appointee mix. He told the Deseret Morning News weeks ago that should Hatch resign his Senate post to take over Justice, Huntsman would not let his name come out of the Utah Republican Party's central committee recommendation.
The central committee would send Huntsman three names. He'd pick one. And while that person would directly go to the U.S. Senate (no confirmation needed by the Utah Senate), he or she would have to run for re-election in 2008 to fill out the remaining four years of Hatch's term.
And almost assuredly both Republicans and Democrats alike would treat that election as an open seat — there would be challenges galore, like there were in 1992, the last time Utah saw an open U.S. Senate seat.
In fact, should Hatch not be picked as attorney general and should he run for re-election in 2012, the then-78-year-old would likely see a strong challenge from within his own party.
Anyway, one rumor has it that should Hatch take the attorney general post, Huntsman would seek to have the name of his lieutenant governor, Gary Herbert, sent up from the state GOP's central committee. Huntsman would then pick Herbert, with the understanding that Herbert would only serve out Hatch's term and then Huntsman would run for the Senate in 2012 — when his second term as governor expires.
Huntsman has already promised to only serve two terms. And he's planning now for his re-election campaign in 2008.
But this rumor has one great flaw: Herbert can't be counted on to win Hatch's seat outright in 2008, when all kinds of Republicans would be running — including no doubt some wealthy candidates who could self-fund their races (which Herbert couldn't really do).
Even though Herbert would be the incumbent in 2008, he wouldn't have the stability in the office that Hatch has enjoyed in his last five re-elections.
All of this, of course, counts on Hatch being picked by Bush to be the new attorney general.
And I really don't see that happening.
First off, why would Hatch want to end his political career by taking over a troubled U.S. department for only the last 15 or so months of Bush's very troubled presidency?
If the attorney general offer had come at the first of Bush's second term, then I could see Hatch taking it. But not now.
Secondly, Hatch has never run a huge bureaucracy. He's managed a relatively small Senate staff office for 30 years.
And Hatch is known to have made some rather outlandish statements over the years — not exactly what Bush wants to see from his new attorney general. Much better a technocrat or a respected judge or lawyer with a measured, reassuring demeanor.
Finally, with former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt now the secretary of Health and Human Services, Bush would have two Utahns and two Mormons in his 15-member Cabinet. A little heavy on both the geographic and religious side.
No, I see Hatch staying right where he is — the longest serving Utahn in the U.S. Senate.
Deseret Morning News political editor Bob Bernick Jr. may be reached by e-mail at bbjr@desnews.com