The Sandspur

Issue date: 11/19/04 Section: News

Media Credit: CHUCK KENNEDY/KRT WILL HE TAKE ASHCROFT´S PLACE?: Gonzales´ nomination has been met with mixed reactions and it remains to be seen whether the Senate will approve Bush´s nomination.

On Wednesday, November 10, President Bush nominated Alberto Gonzales, his White House legal counsel, to replace John Ashcroft as the next attorney general. Ashcroft turned in his letter of resignation a week before Gonzales' nomination. He served as attorney general for nearly four years, but his treatment and recovery from gallstone pancreatitis kept him out of office for close to a month last year. Ashcroft wrote in his resignation to Bush that he found the job of attorney general "both rewarding and depleting." The president praised Ashcroft for his role in altering and reorganizing the Department of Justice to deal with the new threat of terrorism. A former senator and governor of Missouri, Ashcroft's decisions as attorney general often garnered criticism, or at least controversy, particularly his strong support for the Patriot Act, which many feel infringes on civil liberties. Many, however, will be sad to see him go because, as Bush stated, he was "another superb public servant."

The announcement of Gonzales' nomination took place in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. Bush praised Gonzales, 49 and from Texas, for "his sharp intellect and sound judgment," also noting that "he has an unwavering principle of respect for the law." Bush briefly touched on Gonzales' difficult past- growing up in a poor family of eight children all living in a two bedroom home in Texas.

Gonzales, on the day his nomination was announced, said he "would work hard to build upon [Ashcroft's] record." Gonzales was formally a Texas Supreme Court Justice, appointed by Bush when he was Governor of Texas, and also Texas' secretary of state. In January of 2001, he was named White House counsel. Gonzales' career has been linked in some way to Bush's for over a decade now. If Gonzales is confirmed as attorney general, he will be the first Hispanic-American to hold the position.

Bush's nomination of Gonzales has been met with both support and dissention. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, expressed a positive view on the announcement in a news release Wednesday. "It's encouraging that the President has chosen someone less polarizing. We will have to review his record carefully, but I can tell you already he's a better candidate than John Ashcroft." Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, also showed support; "I like and respect Judge Gonzales and look forward to our committee's consideration of his nomination."

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