Arlen Specter: “we are proceeding at the moment to the nomination of White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales to be Attorney General of the…”

“we are proceeding at the moment to the nomination of White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales to be Attorney General of the United States of America. He had served as a judge on the Supreme Court of Texas and has been commonly referred to as Judge Gonzales, which I shall do during the course of my presentation. Judge Gonzales, 49, comes to this nomination to be the chief law enforcement officer of the United States with an extraordinary record. He was one of eight children, sharing a two-room living quarters with their parents. They had no hot water, no telephone. He pursued an academic career, first at the military academy; then at Rice University, where he graduated; and then at the Harvard Law School. He went into the private practice of law and then was asked by then- Governor George Bush to work with him in the Governor's office. Judge Gonzales then, as noted, was a justice of the Supreme Court of Texas. With the election of Governor Bush to the White House, Judge Gonzales has been White House Counsel for the last 4 years. It is not irrelevant to note that Judge Gonzales would be the first Hispanic to be Attorney General of the United States. That is quite a dramatic rise in the legal community.”