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As our colleague Al Kamen notes, Attorney General Eric H. Holder over the weekend politely declined an MSNBC host's offer to "quack like a duck." (After all, who wants to see this headline: "Watch Eric Holder quack like a duck.")

But the exchange provided some insights into his demeanor and, by extension, that ofPresident Obama.

"We say you have a very sort of placid and even way of presenting, but you are just working for justice underneath," Melissa Harris-Perry explained to Holder, who laughed when told of his nickname.

Here's how Holder responded:

I was born and raised in New York City, in the '50s and '60s. And for an African American guy, the thing was to be cool, you know? You gotta be cool, things don't bother you. And so on the surface I like to think that that's the way I appear to be. But you're absolutely right, those little duck feet are just moving as fast as they can underneath and things are ... going as fast as they can behind the scenes. I may have been cool in congressional hearings on the outside, but I was pissed off a lot of the time too. It was a question of trying to rein in those feelings and make sure that on the outside I was cool.

While other politicians can fly off the handle from time to time, both Obama and Holder have rarely done so. Holder has shown more emotion than Obama-- it was very clear in a few of those congressional hearings that he was "pissed off," for instance -- but race and history and their personalities have dictated that they present as cool and professorial in public settings. It's a template that other black politicians with national ambitions will follow, until they don't.

Holder's franknessaround race has set him apart from Obama.He, for instance, framed his treatment in various congressional hearings in racial terms. "What attorney general has ever had to deal with that kind of treatment?" he asked at a National Action Network conference. "What president has ever had to deal with that kind of treatment?" and then there was that whole asparagus thing.

One wonders what Holder would look like if he wasn't so intent on keeping his cool.

Video below:

(h/t The Hill)

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Eric Holder explains his (and Obamas) cool demeanor

Holder claims that his people have been dedicated to doing things only on the basis of the facts and the law. That is certainly not what a number of federal judges have thought about the abusive cases that Justice has brought under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act with the intention of intimidating the pro-life movement. Many of these prosecutions have been thrown out for lack of evidence and for violating the First Amendment rights of peaceful protesters. A Florida case that was dismissed led the judge to wonder whether the prosecution was the product of a concerted effort between the government and the [abortion clinic]...to quell [the defendants] activities rather than to enforce the statute. In other words, the judge believed the defendant had been targeted for her political beliefs.

Similar cases have been filed in the area of environmental law.At the behest of the administrations environmental allies, there was the lawsuit filed against storied guitar maker Gibson Guitar for supposedly importing prohibited wood that, the DOJ finally had to admit, was not prohibited. Holders Justice Department has colluded with those same environmental groups to impose dozens of new regulatory rules through a sue and settle scheme by which Justice does not defend in lawsuits brought by its political friends. That allows the administration to implement the rules it wants without going through the required regulatory process, skipping public notice and review.

What is sad is that Holder is proud of the historic things he has done at Justice. Does that include the politically motivated pardons for international fugitive Marc Rich or the unrepentant Puerto Rican FALN terrorists that he arranged in his prior tenure at Justice during the Clinton administration?

Through his mishandling of Operation Fast and Furious (which provoked a contempt citation from Congress), his imposition of the Clinton-era model of handling terrorism as ordinary criminal violations, his refusal to provide Congress with the information it is entitled to in its oversight function, his arbitrary refusals to enforce or defend federal laws that he and President Obama dont like, Holder politicized the department to an extent never before seen, despite his furious denials. That is not a historic record to be proud of.

Eric Holder and Barack Obama came into their respective offices promising transparency, openness, and adherence to the rule of law.Instead, we have seen the exact opposite from both of them, with Eric Holder acting as President Obamas enabler to violate the law and the Constitution.We need a new attorney general, one who will not repeat that behavior but instead will act to undo the enormous damage that Holder has inflicted on the professionalism of the Justice Department an attorney general willing to rein in the president when he tries to abuse his executive authority.

Editor'sNote:This article was co-authored by John Fund.

- John Fund is national-affairs correspondent for National Review Online.

- Hans A. von Spakovsky a Manager, Election Law Reform Initiative and Senior Legal Fellow at The Heritage Foundation.

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Eric Holder's State of Historic Denial

Warning: PG-rated language ahead.

We often wondered how, no matter what was thrown at him, outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder managed to keep his composure through all those oft-contentious congressional hearings. (Well, except maybe for the famous asparagus exchange with GOP Rep. Louie Gohmert last April.)

Now, thanks to a somewhat unusual interview Sunday on MSNBC, we know his technique.

Host Melissa Harris-Perry told Holder her viewers called him The Duck.

The Duck? he responded, smiling and clearly wondering where this was heading.

We say you have a very sort of placid, even way of presenting, but you are just working for justice underneath, she explained, waving her hands as a ducks feet would move. Would you quack for us?she asked.

Holder politely declined. But I like the analogy, he said.

I was born and raised in New York City in the 50s and 60s, he explained, and for an African American guy, the thing was to be cool, you know ... things dont bother you. So on the surface Id like to think that thats the way I appear to be, but youre absolutely right: Those little duck feet are just moving as fast as they can underneath.

I may have been cool in congressional hearings on the outside, Holder added, but I was pissed off a lot of the time, too, you know. And it was a question of trying to rein in those feelings and make sure that, on the outside, I was cool.

A long, tall history

Original post:
A nickname for the seldom-ruffled Eric Holder

Eric Holder Shows Off His Basketball Skills in San Francisco [VIDEO]
Watch U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder #39;s perfect jump shot at a San Francisco Boys and Girls Club game. Attorney General Holder visited the Willie Mays Boys Girls Club During a visit to...

By: YouHitNews

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Eric Holder Shows Off His Basketball Skills in San Francisco [VIDEO] - Video

Eric H. Holder, Jr. was sworn in as the 82nd Attorney General of the United States on February 3, 2009 by Vice President Joe Biden. President Barack Obama announced his intention to nominate Mr. Holder on December 1, 2008.

In 1997, Mr. Holder was named by President Clinton to be the Deputy Attorney General, the first African-American named to that post. Prior to that he served as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. In 1988, Mr. Holder was nominated by President Reagan to become an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

Mr. Holder, a native of New York City, attended public schools there, graduating from Stuyvesant High School where he earned a Regents Scholarship. He attended Columbia College, majored in American History, and graduated in 1973. He graduated from Columbia Law School in 1976.

While in law school, he clerked at the N.A.A.C.P. Legal Defense Fund and the Department of Justice's Criminal Division. Upon graduating, he moved to Washington and joined the Department of Justice as part of the Attorney General's Honors Program. He was assigned to the newly formed Public Integrity Section in 1976 and was tasked to investigate and prosecute official corruption on the local, state and federal levels.

Prior to becoming Attorney General, Mr. Holder was a litigation partner at Covington & Burling LLP in Washington.

Mr. Holder lives in Washington with his wife, Dr. Sharon Malone, a physician, and their three children.

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Attorney General Eric Holder - U.S. Department of Justice