[Terror] A Win-Win

What a challenge — finding someone who could match not only John Ashcroft's patriotic fervor, but also his peculiar skill at expressing those feelings. (Okay, so maybe the Bush Inner Circle did find Ashcroft a bit....wacky.) But now enter Alberto Gonzales. He was a partner in a Houston law firm that represented Enron. He defended the administration's policy of detaining certain terrorism suspects for extended periods without access to lawyers or courts. He wrote a memo claiming the President's right to waive anti-torture law and international treaties providing protections to prisoners of war. (He called the Geneva Convention "quaint.") Wow! We're not losing a Goebbels, we're gaining a Pinochet!

And with Ashcroft on his way out, he can now express his true feelings, without holding back, without having to be diplomatic: "The danger I see here is that intrusive judicial oversight and second-guessing of presidential determinations in these critical areas [America's obligations under international treaties and agreements] can put at risk the very security of our nation in a time of war.....Courts are not equipped to execute the law. They are not accountable to the people."

Of course, not all conservatives think Gonzales is another Pinochet: Robert Novak, for example, contends that he definitely pulled the Texas Supreme Court to the left. Soft on abortion, soft on affirmative action, soft on trial lawyers.

Hey guys! Cut him some slack! At least he's pro-torture!

Well, I only hope WFMU keeps playing American Ambulance's Hey! John Ashcroft (Come and Kiss My New York Ass): it rocks!