Confirming American dissent

Maggie says:
Consider the recent confirmations of Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Obviously, they're terrible candidates bent on further destroying U.S. credibility in the world and wreaking havoc on civil liberties at home. It is beyond me why any self-respecting Democrat would vote yes on their confirmations. So what if the majority would give them the vote, anyway? Isn't it worth anything to stand up for your beliefs and record your dissent?

So while I have nothing good to say about the Dems who confirmed these individuals (and am flat-out bewildered by Joe Biden, who railed against Rice during the hearings and then voted for her anyway...), here's some heartening news, however small and footnote-ish it is:

Condoleeza Rice was confirmed with an 85-13 vote, marking her as the Secretary of State with the most No votes in our country's history. Alberto Gonzales has the same distinction: his confirmation vote of 60-36 makes him the least-confirmed Attorney General ever. He broke John Ashcroft's record to do it.