Just a week into the job, Attorney General Michael Mukasey has shown he knows how to stroke political detractors.

The Justice Department has reopened an inquiry into the government's warrantless wiretapping program that had been shut down by the administration. And by picking a Chicago judge to be his top deputy, Mukasey gained some support from one of his harshest Senate critics.

Suddenly, the urgency of passing contempt citations against President Bush's confidants has waned. Even those who voted against Mukasey could be heard speaking of blank slates and good news so far.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont, who presided over the confirmation hearings but ultimately voted no, said he personally wished Mukasey well.

"When I talked to him, I said I started a new clock running and I want him to be as successful as possible," Leahy told reporters yesterday.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island, also voted against confirmation but nonetheless sent Mukasey a note of congratulations.

"We'll just have to wait and see," Whitehouse said.

One of Mukasey's first acts was widely received as a gesture of his promised independence from the White House. Five days after taking office, he announced that he was reopening the department's internal inquiry into whether the spying program complies with the law. The Office of Professional Responsibility probe was shut down last year after the investigators were denied security clearances. Gonzales told Congress that Bush, not he, denied the clearances.

"I am happily surprised," declared Rep. Maurice Hinchey, a Democrat from New York.

"Very healthy," proclaimed Sen. Arlen Specter, a Republican from Pennsylvania, who voted to confirm Mukasey but remained concerned about some issues.

Next up: Mukasey and the White House tapped a federal judge from Chicago to be deputy attorney general.

On paper, Mark Filip is a natural match for Mukasey. The two are former federal judges and loyal Republicans. But there apparently was another reason behind the nomination: One of Filip's fans on Capitol Hill also is Mukasey's harshest Senate critic.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, who issued no statement when Mukasey was confirmed, suddenly waxed effusive in remarks released when Filip was named. In a telephone interview, Durbin said that Mukasey called to advise him that Filip would be tapped as his No. 2.

"It helps, it really does," Durbin said. "I really do want (Mukasey) to rebuild this Department of Justice" surrounded by capable people.

There are other signs that Mukasey's confirmation has dialed down the intensity of some hardball tactics and take-it-or-leave-it standoffs between Congress and the Bush administration.

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