The next Attorney General

There’s lots of speculation about who will succeed John Ashcroft. The name one hears the most is Larry Thompson, who was Ashcroft’s deputy for a while. Thompson, who happens to be African-American, seems pretty conservative. The same cannot be said for some of the others whose names are being tossed about — Bush re-election Chairman Marc Racicot (strongly opposed by conservatives four years ago), White House Counsel Alberto Gonzalez, and Rudy Giuliani.
I would love to see the president nominate Boyden Gray, who was White House Counsel under the first President Bush. A native of North Carolina, Gray is one of the pre-eminent lawyers here in Washington, and a tireless champion of conservative causes. Power Line has linked to a number of op-eds Gray has written, here, for example, and here. Gray has been out front in the battle to confirm President Bush’s judicial nominees, as shown here. He even helped place an ad exposing the bias of Democrats who were blocking the nomination of William Pryor due to his “deeply held relgious beliefs,” as we discussed here. In short, Gray has it all — strength, smarts, and conservatism.