Decius wrote:
] bucy wrote:
] ] ] WASHINGTON - With a hug and words of high praise,
] ] ] President Bush (news - web sites) named Alberto Gonzales
] ] ] as attorney general on Wednesday, elevating the
] ] ] administration's most prominent Hispanic to a highly
] ] ] visible post in the war on terror.
] ]
] ] He isn't great but better than Ashcroft, probably.
]
] The problem with Ashcroft was his abuse of the Patriot act for
] investigations unrelated to Terrorism. I have serious doubts
] that the guy who created the administration's weasly policies
] on enemy combatants and torture, and who ended 50 years of
] American Bar Association vetting of federal judges because the
] radical wing of the Republican party doesn't like the
] constitution, is going to be a super great AG. The only
] blessing here is that they didn't put him on the Supreme Court
] bench.
]
] See the story I'm linking:

I have a hard time seeing anyone as worse than Ashcroft. Ashcroft was generally viewed as one of the dimmest bulbs in the Senate, and his tenure as AG didn't make me think he's had any thought deeper than what to have for lunch.

There isn't question that Gonzales is brighter than the man he's replacing, the question is whether his past considerations are cause for concern. My take is, they are, but I am far less concerned about him as AG than I would be if he were being considered for the Supreme Court. I'm less than enthralled, but Bush has already shown he can do worse (and did).

RE: Bush Picks Gonzales to Succeed Ashcroft