Gonzalez < Ashcroft

Here's a bit from Scott Lemieux:

One of the few contrarian arguments ever to turn out to be right was Yglesias's qualified defense of John Ashcroft. The Bush administration has not only pursued poor-to-catastrophic policy outcomes, but is also frequently unable and/or unwilling to carry out the basic functions of government, adhere to the law, etc. Ashcroft was, at least, competent and unwilling to push the Bush administration's lawlessness past a certain point. Gonzales failed utterly on all counts. And whether or not he was personally more moderate than Ashcroft, it certainly didn't discernibly affect the policy agenda of his office. All that matters is whether you're willing to carry out the administration's dirtiest work, and he certainly was. Maybe this is the best way of summarizing Gonzales: he's the man who could make you miss John Ashcroft.