Political Quotes

“Ashcroft Is the Wrong Man for Justice John Ashcroft, the man who would be attorney general, is quite a deft backpedaler. Just a few weeks ago, he was a right-wing ideologue dedicated to banning abortion and fighting the civil-rights tide. Now he says he's eager to enforce the laws he hates. So which Ashcroft are we getting-- last year's true believer or a Bush-era compromiser? It's impossible to tell, and maybe it doesn't matter. Whether Ashcroft is an extremist in centrist garb or some sort of changeling, Americans have reason to worry. They needn't fret because of Ashcroft's conservative leanings; anyone President Bush sends to Justice is bound to lean that way. They should worry instead about Ashcroft's integrity. As last week's hearings evinced, he has less of it than his backers like to think. For starters, there's the small matter of the truth. Ashcroft isn't telling it. His declarations before the Senate contradict his record. Some of his equivocation is penny- ante--such as his claim that he'd never have spoken so fondly of proslavery confederate leaders to Southern Partisan magazine back in 1998 if he'd known the rag favored slaveholding itself.”