A reader asked my opinion of Larry Thompson in the comments to the post below about Ashcroft resigning. I went on so long, I figured I'd make it a separate post.

I think Larry Thompson would be an excellent choice--the best of all the names that have been suggested so far--by miles. Is he conservative? Yes. But anyone Bush picks is going to be conservative. Most prosecutors are that way.

Larry Thompson has been a defense attorney and when he was, he was as committed to his clients and their defense as any career defense attorney.

I've known him since he was a defense attorney, and I am not the only defense attorney to have such a high opinion of him. He was a much admired and respected member of the defense organizations I belong to.

I believe that if he takes the job, he will be fair and not trample constitutional rights.

I wish he wasn't such a strong believer in the drug war, but again, no prosecutor is going to be great on defense issues. I don't know his side of the Maher Arar story, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt on that one.

The other names being bandied about are no better than Ashcroft and quite possibly worse.

I heard on CNN that he recently took a job with Texaco Pepsico, and I know that being AG was very trying for him, especially the lack of time he had for his family, so I wouldn't be surprised if he decides against taking the job.

On the other hand, he has also been mentioned as a possible Supreme Court nominee, and that is such a much more prestigious position than AG. Since Bush is so fond of him, perhaps Larry will agree to be AG for two years or so if he's reasonably confident the Supreme Court is waiting for him afterwards.

Yes, read it again, it's true. Attorney General John Ascroft has resigned. In his resignation letter, he claims victory in the war on terrorism and crime.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) on Ashcroft's resignation:

I wish John Ashcroft the best as he prepares to leave the public arena for private life.

President Bush now has the opportunity to appoint a new Attorney General who will protect not only our safety, but our Constitutional rights as well.

Update: Here is the text of Ashcroft's resignation letter, which was 5 pages, written in longhand.

Not all religious leaders are evangelical pro-lifers. Tuesday morning, there will be a meeting of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice to define moral values over the next four years. It will be at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The message:

This campaign season showed that the faith community is broad, diverse, vibrant, engaged, and often pro-choice. Never have so many religious and religiously affiliated groups been involved in voter education and registration.

These people of faith will not be defined or confined by narrow ideologies and fear-mongering politicians. As mainstream religious leaders, we urge people of faith to make clear that moral values include compassion, justice, and equality.

As one journalist observed the other day, perhaps it's just a matter of revising the morals debate and coming up with morally correct language--similar to politically correct language. Here's some of his suggested substitutions:

• "Lifting up the Poor" for tax policy
• "Taking care of seniors" for social security, and
• "Preserving a shared space" for environmental concerns.

James Wolcott has an idea for the new Democratic program:

Democrats could campaign to rescind the Martin Luther King holiday, but I fear this would backfire, since everyone likes an excuse to take a day off from work and would resent having to drag themselves that particularly Monday. No, something ballsier is needed for a turnaround in perception. A taboo or two needs to be smashed.

Therefore I am proposing that the official Democratic slogan for 2008 be "Shoot a Fag for Jesus."

It's a simple, catchy slogan that will look good on a bumperstickers, yet carry a multilateral strike: pro-guns, anti-gay, and unashamedly Christian.

Since abortion is so problematic for Democrats, "Shoot a Babykiller for Jesus" might do the trick in some of the battleground states as a supplemental bumpersticker.

Obviously this is all still in the brainstorming stage, and will need to be focus-grouped, but I believe it nudges us further along the path to success gently lit by Kristof's lamp of wisdom.

Digby agrees:

It's all but certain Attorney General John Ashcroft will resign. Two of the top replacement possibilities, former Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson, who reportedly recently accepted a job with Texaco, and Rudy Guliani have said they don't want the job.

Who's left? Possibly White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales. Or Marc Racicot, Bush's campaign manager and former Governor of Montana.

Senate Democrats did themselves proud today. Richard Durbin (D-IL) will be the new Senate Minority Whip when the new Congress begins in January:

DURBIN STATEMENT REGARDING SENATE LEADERSHIP

[WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) made the following statement regarding the Senate Demaocratic leadership for the 109th Congress:

“I have spent the last few days talking with, and listening to, my Democratic colleagues in the Senate. In the course of those conversations we have discussed the direction in which we would like to see the Democratic Caucus move and what we would like to accomplish in the next few years.”

"As a result of those conversations, I have asked for my colleagues’ support to serve as Democratic Whip, the second spot in leadership, and now have more than a majority of members pledged to vote for me. I am deeply honored that my Senate colleagues are willing to entrust me with this responsibility. Our caucus is a diverse one, as is my home state of Illinois. I am confident that the lessons I have learned in working to address the broad range of concerns of my state will also help me in meeting the challenges of serving as Whip of this extraordinary Caucus.”

Update: Authorship mystery solved. It was written by Michael Moore.

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A Day in the Life of Joe Republican (anonymous as of now)

Joe gets up at 6am and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards.

With his first swallow of water, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to ensure their safety and they work as advertised. All but $10 of his medications is paid by his employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance - now Joe gets it too.

He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.

In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained.

Bush announced his economic plan yesterday:

• Social Security will be privatized
• The tax code will be reformed
• He will cut the deficit in half

All this, he says, within happen within the next four years. Analysts say his promises likely are a mathematical impossibility:

As we wrote last night, Ashcroft is expected to resign. But will Bush accept it? If he uses his health (pancreatic problems) as a reason, probably yes.

Speculation is rampant about Supreme Court replacements and whether Bush will use a recess appointment before January to replace the ailing Chief William Rehnquist.

Some names being bandied about: Miguel Estrada; former Solicitor General Ted Olsen; Larry Thompson; even John Ashcroft.

Thompson's name is also being mentioned as a replacement for Attorney General. He served as Deputy Attorney General under Ashcroft and resigned last year. He gets our vote of confidence for Attorney General. He's very close to Clarence Thomas though, so I wouldn't be suprised to see him on the Supreme Court.

Update: One thing to keep in mind. It's traditional for cabinet members to submit their resignations after an election. Whether or not its accepted is another matter. In Ashcroft's case, the party faithful love him for agreeably serving as Administration whipping post. But, his name is so closely aligned with the Patriot Act, that others may feel Bush has a better chance of shoving Patriot Act II down our throats if he's gone.

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Drudge is reporting that Attorney General John Ashcroft will submit his resignation to Bush within a few days. If Rudy Giuliani is his replacement, I seriously will consider hanging it up. Enough is enough. Clarence Thomas as Chief Justice and Rudy as Attorney General....what's the point?

And don't say we didn't warn you.

Our economy is not in good shape. At least not according to consumers. Consumer confidence is at a seven year month low. What's behind the drop?

• soaring energy prices
• relentless violence in Iraq
• the increasingly bitter end of the presidential election campaign
• record oil prices
• steep health care costs
• concerns over job growth

Hope this makes it into a Kerry campaign ad.

[Ed. edited from "seven year" to "seven month." Thanks to the commenters who pointed out the error and to Skippy who also wrote on the story.]

Republican Congressman Tom Delay days as Teflon Tom may be nearing an end...he was served today with a subpoena in the Texas redistricting case.