Daniel Inouye: “the nomination by President George W. Bush of Mr. Alberto Gonzales to serve as the Attorney General of the United States…”

“the nomination by President George W. Bush of Mr. Alberto Gonzales to serve as the Attorney General of the United States has stirred strong opposition. Although my first instinct is to support the prerogative of any President to select his own Cabinet, I have concluded upon a thorough review of Mr. Gonzales's record that I must oppose his nomination. The Constitution confides in the Senate the duty of advice and consent. This means that my colleagues and I have the responsibility of considering the men and women the President nominates for high Government offices, and either confirming or rejecting them. Although many consider advice and consent to be a Senate right, I think of it as a duty that carries an obligation of fairness and due diligence. The power to reject a nominee should only be invoked where there is substantial doubt as to a nominee's fitness for office--not when there is a simple difference in political philosophy. I do not personally agree with some of the positions that Mr. Gonzales has advocated, but that should come as no surprise, because I do not agree with many of the proposals made by the man who nominated him, President Bush. Most strikingly, I am appalled that he has professed only a ``vague knowledge'' of the racial and ethnic disparities in the imposition of the death penalty in Federal cases.”