Originally Posted by
halls120
For the first few years after 9/11, we were all on a mission to make sure the loopholes in our legal, regulatory and operational structure could not be easily pierced. For those first few years, we collectively acted in good faith as we tried to balance the need to provide better security with the Constitution. It is a little known fact (known only inside DOJ, in fact) that when one post 9/11 proposal was sent to the AG, Ashcroft rejected it, saying, I told you to be creative, but within what the Constitution allows.
Tidbits like this have helped to rebuild my respect for Ashcroft, I'll admit I never liked the man (Remember that he lost against a dead man in 2000?). But a little bit of Gonzales went a long way towards showing how relatively moderate and well intentioned Ashcroft actually was by comparison.
Sadly, this is probably why he ended up getting replaced.