After the announcements by Senators Dianne Feinstein and Chuck Schumer that they would vote for him in committee, it appears his nomination will go before the full Senate where about 70 votes in favor will be cast for him.

Democratic Senators Charles Schumer of New York and Dianne Feinstein of California said Friday they will vote for Attorney General-nominee Michael Mukasey, which likely gives President Bush’s choice enough support to pass the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Schumer and Feinstein announced their decision shortly after the chairman of the committee, Vermong Democrat Patrick Leahy, announced he would vote against Mukasey, a former federal judge.

“This is an extremely difficult decision,” Schumer said in a statement, adding that Mukasey “is not my ideal choice.”

In announcing her support for Mukasey, Feinstein said “first and foremost, Michael Mukasey is not Alberto Gonzales,” referring to the former attorney general who resigned in September after months of questions about his honesty.

Including Leahy, five of the Judiciary Committee’s 10 Democrats had said they would vote against Mukasey’s confirmation after the nominee refused earlier in the week to say that waterboarding, an interrogation technique that simulates drowning, constitutes torture and therefore illegal.

But with nine Republicans on the panel, Schumer’s and Feinstein’s support for Mukasey virtually guarantees that a majority of the committee will recommend his confirmation when it votes next Tuesday.

I’ve come to have more respect for Feinstein in the past few months as she has done what she feels is right and not the political thing.

Maybe they just didn’t want an acting AG Ted Olson.