Oh, I see

Heard on NPR this morning, Deputy Attorney General McNulty defending the recent firing of US attorneys and replacing them with political appointees (who don't, by the way, have to be confirmed any more, thanks to the Patriot Act):

"Replacing a US attorney who is doing well with one who just happens to have political connections is not the same as replacing one for political reasons."

Oh.

Okay, then.

He also said, according to Froomkin's White House Watch,

"When I hear you talk about the politicizing of the Department of Justice, it's like a knife in my heart. . . . Your perspective is completely contrary to my daily experience."

And once again, okay.

No. Really. Okay, then.

I mean, I'm sure that's true. Ashcroft had politicized that department long before McNulty ever got there.

McNulty himself is a beneficiary of this administration's systematic rewarding of political loyalty with high positions. In the administration of President George H.W. Bush, McNulty served as the department's director of policy and communication. He served as spokesman for House Judiciary Committee Republicans during the impeachment of President Clinton. He later directed the George W. Bush transition team for the Justice Department and worked in the deputy's office until Bush appointed him to a prosecutor's job in Virginia, and then to his current position. (thanks to Law.com for the biographical details)

So clearly, the use of the form "politicizing" is wrong, all wrong. That implies an ongoing process, and this isn't that. It's a done deal, folks. Nothing left to see.