Keller @ Large: Why Deval Patrick Won't Be Attorney General

BOSTON (CBS) - First of all, there are two chances that Gov. Deval Patrick will be nominated to succeed Eric Holder as attorney general: slim and none. And slim isn't answering his phone.

The speculation is understandable.

Like Patrick, Holder was an old friend of the president's and a high-profile African-American figure in the legal world. And is there an open slot in the Obama administration that our governor hasn't been mentioned for?

But notice, he's still here. In fact, that was one of the most sacred promises the governor made when he ran in 2006 and 2010, that he – unlike governors Dukakis, Weld and Celluci before him - would serve out his entire term. The governor is known to take great pride in having kept that vow.

And let's be candid, even if he was interested in the job (one close friend tells WBZ-TV he "wants to be a grandpa and make money for awhile"), Gov. Patrick would be a politically problematic nominee for attorney general.

For starters, he is on the opposite side of two pillars of Obama administration legal policy, opposing both the death penalty and the White House push to deport illegal immigrants caught committing crimes.

A Patrick confirmation hearing would surely resurrect the controversies over his defense of cop killers during his time with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, his donation to convicted rapist Ben Laguer to help pursue his appeals, and most recently, Patrick's dismissal of two members of the state sex offender registry who wanted to list his brother-in-law on the registry for raping Patrick's sister.

The governor said Thursday he's not interested, and I believe him.

But since we're in all-out speculation mode, what about U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz, whose tenure will almost surely end in 2017 when a new president takes office?

The Hispanic woman who put Whitey Bulger away?

Now that's a narrative the White House could work with.

You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.

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