The White House didn’t even wait 24 hours before leaking word about John Ashcroft’s replacement.
President Bush is moving swiftly toward naming a successor to Attorney General John Ashcroft, and White House counsel Alberto Gonzales has emerged as the leading candidate.
Two administration officials said that Gonzales, a longtime Bush friend who served with him in Texas, was the likely successor to Ashcroft and that the president could act as early as Wednesday.
I explained earlier some of the reasons Gonzales will be a contentious nominee. Not quite Ashcroft-contentious, but controversial nevertheless.
The White House strategy, meanwhile, is pretty obvious — Gonzales would be the first Hispanic attorney general. For Dems to oppose his nomination, therefore, would be an invitation to get attacked as anti-Hispanic.
Stay tuned.