Ashcroft Nostalgia
Ruth Marcus is feeling it. She "was no fan of President Bush's first attorney general" but "[i]n terms of competence (the skill with which he handles the job) and character (willingness to stand up to the president), Gonzales is enough to make you yearn for the good old Ashcroft days." I predicted this way back in the day arguing that "One can and should expect even politicians with whom you disagree to conduct themselves in office in a manner that reflects neither gross incompetence nor gross corruption" and that Ashcroft was one of very few prominent Bush administration officials to exhibit these virtues.
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I read the Ruth Marcus piece. I agree that Gonzales is pretty much a faithful soldier of the GOP army, and the examples she cites of his parroting and worming are truly infuriating.
But I really wish Ms. Marcus had cited some examples of how Ashcroft was any better, conduct-wise, than Gonzales. I really can't see much difference.
July 26, 2006 12:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yep--that was one increasingly rare example of a "contrarian" argument that was actually right...
July 26, 2006 4:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
Al Gonzalez is to Bush what Tom Hagen was to Vito Corleone. Ashcroft, though a hardcore 'winger, seemed to think that he worked for the United States. Al? Not so much.
July 26, 2006 5:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree that Mr. Ashcroft has not yet been revealed to have been corrupt, as far as I am aware. I also agree Gonzales is worse, far worse, on both counts. Yet I fear we may begin to quibble over the meaning of "gross".
Let's not forget the reasons why Paul Krugman (shrill!) called Ashcroft "the worst Attorney General in history."
I think we can now safely amend that to "second worst".
July 26, 2006 7:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah. It's like somebody says:
"Your Pinto sucks. Wanna trade for my Gremlin?"
July 26, 2006 7:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
Meese might have been worse too.
July 26, 2006 10:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ashcroft conducted himself as attorney general "in a manner that reflect(ed) neither gross incompetence nor gross corruption." Thin beer for most attorneys general but pretty high praise for someone in the Bush administration.
Ron Byers
July 27, 2006 6:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
Gonzales will be even better on the supreme court if there's another vacancy in the more than 2 years that the administration has left.
July 27, 2006 3:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Mr Ashcroft, religious wingnuttery aside, was at least an ethical gentleman. Reports indicate that he was strongly opposed to the Bush administration gutting the Constitution and Geneva Conventions in the War on Terror. Of course he had to go: the Bush White House does not want honest and capable public servants, no matter how idelogically pure, unless they are also slavish sycopahnts who will roll over and play dead no matter what idiocy the Oval Office dreams up.
July 27, 2006 6:26 PM | Reply | Permalink