Every time I begin to forget what a jackass John Ashcroft is, someone takes the effort to remind me. I particularly love Krugman’s concluding paragraph:

After my last piece on Mr. Ashcroft, some readers questioned whether he is really the worst attorney general ever. It’s true that he has some stiff competition from the likes of John Mitchell, who served under Richard Nixon. But once the full record of his misdeeds in office is revealed, I think Mr. Ashcroft will stand head and shoulders below the rest.