Gonzales not the best choice for Att.

Many Americans were excited upon hearing that John Ashcroft resigned from his post as Attorney General of the United States. Unfortunately President George W. Bush wasted no time in appointing his buddy Alberto Gonzales to the post.

Gonzales is a right-wing, conservative and a longtime friend of Bush. He believes the current commander in chief should have more power as America's leader. As exciting as it is that Ashcroft has finally resigned after years of civil rights offenses, legal conservatism and warmongering, Gonzales is not going to be much better.

Some of Gonzales' recent moves include urging Bush to decide the Geneva Conventions Agreement on Prisoners of War does not apply to the United States during the War on Terrorism. This enabled the United States to deny detainees the basic rights given to prisoners of war (POWs). Since then, interrogation techniques, which would be considered torture, have been used at Guantanamo.

The other aspect of Gonzales' appointment that deeply worries concerned citizens is his belief that the president should have even more power as commander in chief. It is a strong move for Bush, a move that will probably give him even more Latino support because he is appointing the first Hispanic to position of attorney general. But Gonzales is probably not the best man for the job, considering his views.

In addition to denying rights to POWs, Gonzales had the job as legal counsel to Bush, giving him the power to decide whether to give clemency to those sentenced to the death penalty. During that time, Texas executed more prisoners than any other state. This fact has caused civil rights and criminal rights groups to criticize Bush and Texas severely for failing to consider evidence of innocence, and mitigating evidence for many of these death penalty cases. He has also allegedly accepted contributions from Vice President Dick Cheney's past company, Halliburton.

Gonzales has also worked as a judge. Here is where he strays from Republican beliefs, in one case voting for minors to be allowed to have abortions without telling their parents.

He has also supported the idea that the White House withhold government documents from Congress and that Supreme Court judges should be confirmed to have right-wing views before being appointed. Gonzales is said to support the more controversial USA Patriot Act provisions, which restrict the rights of U.S. citizens and give more power to the government and the police.

At least we can sigh in relief that Gonzales will not be appointed to the United States Supreme Court anytime soon.