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Bush names Gonzales Attorney General
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by Ryan Masse
Thursday, November 11, 2004
President Bush made the first post-election appointment to his Cabinet Wednesday, choosing White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales to be the next Attorney General.
Gonzales, set to be the first Latino to hold the position of Attorney General, replaces John Ashcroft, who resigned along with Secretary of Commerce Don Evans Tuesday.
“As the nation’s chief law enforcement officer, Al will continue our administration’s great progress in fighting crime, in strengthening the FBI, in improving our domestic efforts in the war on terror,” Bush said at the White House. “I’m committed to strong, principled leadership at the Department of Justice, and Judge Al Gonzales will be that kind of leader as America’s 80th Attorney General.”
The appointment extends a 10-year professional relationship between Bush and Gonzales. Before Bush made him his top legal advisor in 2001, Gonzales served as a judge on the Texas Supreme Court, and before that, as Texas Secretary of State. He first joined Bush’s staff as General Counsel when the president was elected governor of Texas in 1994.
In accepting the appointment, Gonzales said he regretted he would no longer interact as closely with the White House staff but said he was ready to embrace heading the Department of Justice.
“As a former judge, I know well that some government positions require a special level of trust and integrity,” Gonzales said. “The American people expect and deserve a Department of Justice guided by the rule of law, and there should be no question regarding the department’s commitment to justice for every American. On this principle, there can be no compromise.”
Standing now between Gonzales and the Attorney General spot is confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, commended Gonzales Wednesday but wrote in a statement he is “concerned about aspects of [Gonzales’] record as White House Counsel that raise doubts about his commitment to the rule of law.”
Critics have alleged Gonzales, in a January 2002 memo, dismissed treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay that may have violated standards of the Geneva Convention.
Controversy is nothing new to the position of Attorney General, though, as Ashcroft has spent the last four years as one of the most polarizing figures in American politics. Bush saluted Ashcroft Wednesday as a “superb public servant,” but others say the Attorney General deliberately violated the constitution in enforcing the USA Patriot Act.
The American Civil Liberties Union, no fan of Ashcroft, called for a rigorous confirmation examination of Gonzales in the Senate.
Bill Turner, president of the UW-Madison chapter of the ACLU, said Ashcroft was a “dangerous Attorney General” to civil rights but said Gonzales is “not necessarily an improvement,” citing the memo.
UW junior Sara Tibebu, a campus activist with several groups, including the Multicultural Student Coalition, said time will tell the significance of Bush appointing a Latino to such a prominent position.
“It could be a really positive step, especially for those Latinos who identify themselves as Republicans, much like [Secretary of State] Colin Powell was for the black community,” Tibebu said. “But others might think he’s a token appointment made for political purposes.”
