Posted on 11/16/2001 5:16:38 PM PST by 11th Earl of Mar
CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - President Bush next week is expected to name the Justice Department headquarters after Robert F. Kennedy, a Democratic U.S. attorney general and brother of former President John Kennedy.
"He is expected to sign a document essentially dedicating the Justice Department building for Robert F. Kennedy," a White House official said on Friday. The official had no further information on the decision.
But Newsweek magazine said Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft would hold the renaming ceremony on Tuesday, on what would have been the assassinated New York Democratic senator and presidential candidate's 76th birthday.
Kennedy served as U.S. attorney general to his brother, President John F. Kennedy, then became a U.S. senator and was campaigning for the White House himself when he was gunned down by Sirhan Sirhan on June 5, 1968, in Los Angeles after winning the California primary.
There have been unsuccessful efforts in Congress to name the building after Kennedy.
While serving as attorney general from 1961 to 1964, Kennedy gained a reputation for doggedly pursuing organized crime leaders. Ashcroft last month cited that reputation in pledging a similar effort against terrorism.
Newsweek magazine reported on its Internet site that several generations of Kennedys would attend a dedication ceremony.
Copyright 2001 Reuters News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
I agree. Who cares it Bush gives the Dems symbolism, but not substance. They have been doing it to us for years.
I read Drudge after work tonight and I absolutely thought the whole department was being re-named. I remember thinking that it was a bizzare story.
I am a "reasonable person", but I took it literally. It seemed weird, but then I expect to read weird things on Drudge.
I guarantee Drudge will correct it as soon an someone flags him on it.
Piasa Bird
I think this is a shrewd move!! The lefties can't get critical about Ashcroft going overboard with the way he is handling things. What's good for the goose.....
I know you always hated them.
BTW, good "Checkers" speech.
Now you can go out get some more nits.
LOL!
I guess if I wanted to be really bad, I could say RFK didn't keep his brother from being assasinated, did he?
I dunno newzjunkey there were lots of people who were getting crazy over it before it was learned the building would be named.
I guess most reasonable people like you and me didn't bother to post to this thread. :-)
Indeed, quite ironic. I didnt think of it in that light. Thanks
I agree. Feel-good symbolic gestures are an easy and costless way to lubricate relations with political opponents. It's a far better technique than the political logrolling that normally occurs (and costs taxpayers tens or hundreds of billions of dollars).
Sometimes symbolism can be significant, but naming a building? That's about as significant as publically referring to a corrupt politician whose guts you hate as "the Honorable Sen. XXXXX".
As for the conspiracy theories, they're all interesting ...but Reuters does say in the article that "there have been unsuccessful efforts in Congress to name the building after Kennedy." I conclude, therefore, that it shouldn't surprise anybody. It would make even MORE sense if he had been AG at the time of his assassination, but I'm one of those conservatives who questions the renaming of National Airport, too.
But then, what do I know. I'm just a housewife now.
Well, fine. I hope they take as many years to put the official signs up...just like the ones of Reagan Airport.
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