George Stephanopoulos discussed the Ashcroft succession this morning (leaning heavily on how he was “as close to forced out as you can get in this administration,” which somehow forgets Paul O’Neill ). George ended with this odd sentence about potential AGs Larry Thompson or Al Gonzales: “I think even that kind of a cosmetic change, having the first African-American or the first Hispanic Attorney General, would suggest a change in tone.” Is there something inexplicably “white” about Ashcroft’s tone?