Ashcroft Declares End to Crime and Terror, Resigns

[Rspaight]

Emphasis mine.

Bush Cabinet Shakeup Begins

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 2004

Bush Cabinet: Help Wanted

(CBS/AP) Attorney General John Ashcroft, a point man for the Bush strategy for the war on terror, and Commerce Secretary Don Evans, one of President Bush's closest friends, resigned Tuesday, the first members of the Cabinet to leave as Mr. Bush heads into his second term.

Both Ashcroft and Evans served in Mr. Bush's Cabinet from the start of the administration.

"The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved," said Ashcroft, in a five-page, handwritten letter to President Bush dated Nov. 2. "Yet I believe that the Department of Justice would be well served by new leadership and fresh inspiration."

"I believe that my energies and talents should be directed toward other challenging horizons," said Ashcroft, whose health problems earlier this year resulted in removal of his gall bladder.

Ashcroft helped plot the strategy for internal security after 9/11. He was often front man in announcing the change in threat levels facing the country, and the man who detained thousands of mostly Muslim immigrants believing that strategy would catch anyone else planning to attack.

Along with Vice President Dick Cheney, Ashcroft has been one of the most controversial members of the Bush team and has often been accused of riding roughshod over constitutional rights in his quest for tighter security.

"John Ashcroft was one of the most destructive attorneys general in the modern era," says Ralph Neas, president of People for the American Way, a constitutional rights advocacy group. "His tenure was marked by a severe erosion of Americans' constitutional liberties and a diminished commitment to civil rights enforcement."

Another Ashcroft critic - Illinois Democratic Senator Dick Durbin - says "President Bush now has the opportunity to appoint a new attorney general who will protect not only our safety, but our constitutional rights as well."

"We need to do more than just replace John Ashcroft; we need a wholesale re-examination of Justice Department policies that trample on civil liberties and human rights," says Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, who calls the Ashcroft legacy "an open hostility to protecting civil liberties and an outright disdain for those who dare to question his policies."

Ashcroft's defenders are equally strong in their praise for the attorney general, whose career highlights include service as a U.S. senator and as governor of Missouri.

"Thanks to his hard work, many terrorists have been captured, and their efforts to do America harm have been disrupted," says Missouri GOP Sen. Kit Bond. "We owe a great deal to John Ashcroft for his dedication and determination to make our country safer and more secure."

"Ashcroft," agrees Sen. Orrin Hatch, "served our country faithfully during one of our most challenging chapters in history. ... His courage and leadership are second to none."

"In addition to protecting this nation against those who wanted to destroy America and our freedoms, Ashcroft also exhibited an unwavering commitment to safeguarding the freedoms of the most vulnerable," says Jay Sekulow, of the American Center for Law and Justice, an advocacy group founded by evangelist Pat Robertson. "We applaud his dedication to defend the national ban on partial-birth abortion and remain hopeful that it will survive the constitutional challenges ahead."

Several names have emerged as possible successors to Ashcroft. The biggest is Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York. Another is former deputy attorney general Larry Thompson. Following the Sept. 11 attacks, Thompson headed the National Security Coordination Council and was appointed to head the president's corporate crime taskforce. An African-American and a strong conservative, Thompson could appeal to several constituencies.

The chairman of the Bush-Cheney campaign, former Montana governor Mark Racicot is also on the list, as is United Nations Ambassador John Danforth, who is also mentioned as a possible candidate for Secretary of State. Finally, there's White House general counsel Alberto Gonzales.

Evans, a longtime friend from Texas, wrote Mr. Bush, "While the promise of your second term shines bright, I have concluded with deep regret that it is time for me to return home."

One name being mentioned for Evans' job at Commerce is Mercer Reynolds, national finance chairman for the Bush campaign, who raised more than $260 million to get him re-elected. Other possibles are U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, White House budget chief Josh Bolten, or a long-time Bush supporter from California, Gerald Parsky.

President Bush is praising both men - and the policies they advanced.

"John Ashcroft has worked tirelessly to help make our country safer," the president said. "John has served our nation with honor, distinction, and integrity."

President Bush's farewell to Evans is more effusive and more personal, fitting to their more than three decades of friendship dating to the oil business in Midland, Texas, where they attended church together and met every day for a three-mile jog.

"Don Evans is one of my most trusted friends and advisers," said the president. "Don has worked to advance economic security and prosperity for all Americans. He has worked steadfastly to make sure America continues to be the best place in the world to do business."

Ashcroft, 62, has been well liked by many conservatives.

"Perhaps the single greatest legacy of the Ashcroft Justice Department," observes CBS News Legal Analyst Andrew Cohen, "is its change in emphasis away from punishing people who commit crimes to preventing people from committing them in the first place."

Washington continues to buzz with speculation about the futures of Secretary of State Colin Powell and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Powell - who's widely expected to quit as Secretary of State, although the timing is unclear - hasn't said anything definite about his plans.

Senior aides to Rumsfeld say he would like to remain in the job for at least part of President Bush's second term. Rumsfeld hasn't said anything publicly and Tuesday said he hadn't yet discussed the matter with the president.

[Ess Ay Cee Dee]

"The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved," said Ashcroft, in a five-page, handwritten letter to President Bush dated Nov. 2.

Wow, that's great news! When did this happen?

[Rspaight]

I don't know, but it sure is exciting! Can we bring the troops home now? What are all the police going to do? Rescue cats from trees? So many questions!

Ryan

[Ess Ay Cee Dee]

Well, I can guarantee that despite the total lack of crime in the US, the liberal media is going to keep reporting about murders and carjackings.

God damn the liberal media.

[Rspaight]

I guess this is the advantage of not being in the Reality-Based Community. According to the Justice Dept., crime and terrorism no longer exist. So anyone complaining about those things is a liberal whiner not in touch with the alternate reality the administration generates.

Wow. Who'd a-thunk we could have solved all these problems just by declaring them solved? I can't wait from the note from the Treasury Dept. that the deficit's gone away.

Ryan

[lukpac]

"Let Freedom Reign!"

[Ess Ay Cee Dee]

Wow. Who'd a-thunk we could have solved all these problems just by declaring them solved? I can't wait from the note from the Treasury Dept. that the deficit's gone away.

Hmmmm, do you think that attitude would work with my credit card debt and student loans? It's worth a shot.

[Rspaight]

And Ashcroft will be replaced by Alberto Gonzales, the guy who called the Geneva Conventions "quaint" when justifying the President's right to order torture, and set up the framework for the camps in Gitmo. He was a counsel at Enron and was complicit in Bush's enthusiatic application of the death penalty in Texas. Pretty slimy, in other words.

On the plus side, he's not a religious wacko and may even be pro-choice. So I'll call it an upgrade from Ashcroft. Which ain't hard, but I'm surprised Bush wasn't able to find someone worse.

Ryan

[Rspaight]

From the Rude Pundit:

How about this - instead of a nice, orderly Congressional hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, the good Senators get to strip Gonzales nude, put a hood on his head, force him to masturbate, and then attach electrodes to his flaccid genitals and put a leash and collar on his neck. Then, with Patrick Leahy on the switch, let the questioning commence.

Sounds like a plan to me.

Ryan