Weird

A piece about the Ashcroft Over America tour:

I wanted to talk with John Ashcroft, but the door was closed.

I wanted to ask a few questions about the USA Patriot Act, the anti-terrorism law taking fire from the left and the right. But the only media allowed a post-speech audience with the attorney general were local TV reporters - one at a time, three minutes apiece. No print journalists. No radio broadcasters.

It reportedly has been the same in every city on the Ashcroft Over America tour. The former Missouri governor has hit the road to counter attacks that the Patriot Act is unpatriotic.

The speeches are open to media and law enforcement officials. The public is barred, and, afterward, only TV reporters ask questions. After Monday's speech at the downtown Hyatt, a Justice Department official politely but firmly shooed away print and radio journalists.