Harry Reid had made a deal, he thought, to let a partisan Republican lawyer from DoJ's civil rights group, Hans von Spakovsky, get a vote on his nomination by Bush to the FEC - in a "package deal" that would let 3 others be voted on too.

von Spakovsky is one of the most repugnant of Bush's nominees to a position to monitor electioneering, 1 of the most influential of folks to jumpstart an outright purge of the voter rolls, beginning in Florida 2000.

Politico and Roll Call report Obama wouldn't let it through.

Sen. Obama put a hold on Bush's nominee right before last week's recess.

What's so wrong with Hans von Spakovsky lording over US elections?

von Spakovsky at DoJ decimated voting rights of minorities ---  and Hans was the brainchild behind the "Voting Integrity Project" database in Florida in 2000 that purged 1000s of blacks from the voter rolls