Political Quotes

“just a few moments ago, I had a phone conversation with Senator Ashcroft--it was not an easy call for me, and I suspect it was not an easy call for him--in which I shared with him my decision not to vote for his confirmation to be Attorney General for our country. Unlike many of my colleagues in this body, I never served with Senator Ashcroft. We heard a lot about him today from those who know him better than I ever will. While some are full of praise and others are more critical, a number of characteristics about the man emerge. I want to reiterate some of those. Even his critics will acknowledge that John Ashcroft is a person of intellect, someone with great energy, someone with a wealth of experience within his own State and here at the Federal level, a person of deep faith, someone who was gracious in defeat in his reelection campaign last November. If he were a nominee for Secretary of Education, Secretary of Energy, Secretary of Agriculture, or Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, my vote would be different; I would vote for him. But he is not. He is the nominee for Attorney General for our country.”