Blue Radar

As I post each morning, here are some of the political stories thatmight not be worthy of their own posts, but are nonetheless newsworthy:

• Confirming an earlier report on Sunday, Michael Chertoff will likely be named as the new Attorney General.  Long-time Bush loyalist Clay Johnson III will then take over as the new head of the Homeland Security Department.
• According to New York Times, Michael Chertoff is not the only one among the short list of candidates vying to replace Alberto Gonzales: "Among those being mentioned as a possible successor were MichaelChertoff, the secretary of homeland security who is a former federalprosecutor, assistant attorney general and federal judge; ChristopherCox, the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission; and Larry D.Thompson, a former deputy attorney general who is now senior vicepresident and general counsel of PepsiCo Inc."
• Although his resignation was announced yesterday, Alberto Gonzales will step down on September 17th.
• Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on the resignation of Alberto Gonzales: "He lacked independence, he lackedjudgment, and he lacked the spine to say no to [White House adviser]Karl Rove. This resignation is not the end of the story. Congress mustget to the bottom of this mess and follow the facts where they lead,into the White House."
• Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) was arrested in June for lewd conduct after complaints at a men's restroom at a Minnesota airport.  He plead guilty on August 8th.  The news never broke until this week.
• A police officer among President Bush's motorcade on Monday crashed his motorcycle and died.
• Civic engagement among young adults is way up.  Today, at least 80% of incoming college freshman have community service experience, compared to just 66% in 1989.
• The International Association of Firefighters will endorse Chris Dodd for president.
• At a health care forum on Monday, when challenged by John Edwards about her campaign contributions from lobbyists, Hillary Clinton said there was nothing wrong with accepting lobbyist money.  "I believe in working with everybody and being influenced by nobody," the former First Lady said.

If we left something out, it's because we either wrote about ityesterday or are scheduled to do so in an individual post later today. Otherwise, feel free to add any stories in the commentbox.