Best Graceful/Calculating Exit
John Ashcroft
Just a few weeks before last November's election, Senator John Ashcroft was accusing his opponent, Governor Mel Carnahan, of ignoring laws, wasting money and running a dirty campaign. The October 16 plane crash that killed Carnahan, his eldest son and a campaign aide silenced all such rhetoric and hollowed out Ashcroft's own talk about family values -- in the days that followed, Missourians had only one family on their minds. Apparently unwilling to craft a two-week strategy against a grieving widow, Ashcroft sat out the campaign's most crucial moments. His concession speech was stunningly selfless: "I hope that the outcome of this election is a matter of comfort to Mrs. Carnahan," Ashcroft said. A few weeks later, when George W. Bush nominated Ashcroft for Attorney General, we found out just how far an honorable countenance could take a savvy politician.
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