leading contender to be secretary of state after Obama got the nomination." In late summer and fall 2008, Craig, a skilled trial lawyer, assumed the role of John McCain in Obama's preparations for the presidential debates. The campaign expected "that McCain would condescend to Obama as a wet-behind-the-ears rookie" and Craig played his role as such. Craig-as-McCain "glowered" at Obama in debate prep, saying, "Do not lecture me about the war. Do not tell me how to deploy men in combat. I was flying a jet over Vietnam when you were in grade school." Obama was tutored to remain unflinching and counterattack by listing McCain's past misjudgments. In the 2004 presidential election, Craig played a similar role in preparing John Kerry for the debates; Craig played George W. Bush in practice sessions. White House Counsel in Obama administration In its November 2008 issue, shortly before the 2008 presidential election, the ABA Journal speculated that Craig might be named Secretary of State in an Obama administration. Craig also reportedly hoped for that position or another foreign policy post in the Obama administration, which did not materialize. Obama ultimately appointed Craig to serve as his first White House Counsel. Craig served in that post from January 2009 to January 2010. In his first year in the Obama administration, Craig handled "one of the most difficult portfolios in the West Wing." Craig drafted the executive order banning the use of torture and another executive order which ordered the closure within a year of the Guantanamo Bay prison camp (which never materialized). Over the objections of the Central Intelligence Agency, Craig also recommended the release of the "Torture Memos" of the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice. In an interview in 2011 (after leaving his post as White House counsel), Craig said of the release of the memos: "I think the President made the right decision. It was in the public interest, and it did no damage to national security." Craig added that the memos were the subject of a Freedom of Information Act suit and that he believed that the likelihood of a judge ordering those memos released was high in any case. Craig also "was at the center of the White House decision to reverse itself and withhold photographs of abuse of detainees." As White House counsel, Craig also oversaw the successful confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor to the