And while I was finishing up that video, the news broke: Ashcroft is, as they say, “going home.”
Mac over at Pesky Apostrophe points out the most bizarre part of his resignation, the part where he says:
The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved.
Wow! I don’t have the words to say how utterly amazed I am to hear this, especially after his boss took such pains to tell us all that we were moments away from death without him as president. I guess it’s true: now that Bush is staying in office, those terrorists and criminals won’t dare to show their faces. The war on terror is over! John Ashcroft won it for us! (Incidentally, the UPI news story does not mention this line in his letter, but the AP and seemingly every other news outlet does pull out that quote for special attention.)
You know, when I was coming home from work today my usual route was blocked by police cars, so I tried to go around and that way was blocked as well. Then roaring through the side streets came Dubya’s motorcade, an exceedingly long affair composed of lots of police cars, some black SUVs, our fearless leader’s limo, and, oddly, an ambulance. The motorcade was heading west, leaving Walter Reed Army Medical Center. I wondered where it was going, because the White House is in the other direction. It dawns on me that some VIP must live in the neighborhood near my office that I drive through every day, because after September 11, a lot of signs went up in the neighborhood warning that it was for local traffic only, blah blah blah. Signs of a skittish VIP living up the street. Anyway, I wonder if Johnny boy lives there and George and Laura stopped by for a little laying on of hands?
Whatever. All I know is he screwed up my commute yet again. That alone is enough to make me want him out of office.
Okay, back to the point.
What does this nearly instant resignation by Ashcroft mean? Sure, it was rumored for a long time, but the White House insisted as recently as yesterday that no one was leaving. And this evening, boom — both Ashcroft and the Commerce secretary. Ashcroft’s letter was dated November 2, so the White House knew. (Nothing new there — the White House knowing something but denying it, big whoop.)
I wonder if the Democrats will roll over and confirm his new AG pick like they did with Ashcroft… now that they realize what a huge mistake that was.
