Editorial: Lack of fresh faces in Cabinet disappointing

Now that Attorney General John Ashcroft and Secretary of State
Colin Powell have resigned, citizens around the country are holding
their breath while awaiting the replacements.

When it comes to Ashcroft, it seems that anyone would be better.
Ashcroft is the same attorney general who imprisoned thousands
without trials, helped craft the Patriot Act and isn’t shy
about his support of the big media conglomerates in the
file-sharing wars.

Ashcroft also covered the Department of Justice’s statue
of Lady Justice because he was offended by her bare breast. That
act came to be a simple metaphor for the rest of his controversial
tenure.

President Bush has appointed White House Counsel Alberto
Gonzales to replace Ashcroft ““ a disappointing choice, as
Gonzales helped write the memos on how to avoid war crime charges
resulting from actions in Afghanistan.

As for Powell, people have to wonder what kept him in the Bush
administration for so long. Known as an intensely rational man, it
is a wonder he did not quit sooner.

America needs a person who can begin to repair years of damage
to America’s international reputation. But Bush has picked
Condoleezza Rice to replace him, hardly a fresh face with any
promise to rejuvenate four years of failing policy decisions.