April 20, 2007, Gonzy, you're doing a heck of a fantastic job
It seems that the White House official who quipped that the Bush Administration made up its own reality wasn't kidding, as the White House reaction to a performance by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales that was so God-awful that Republican Senators are calling for his resignation is, of course, an expression of renewed confidence in Gonzales by the White House.
Was anyone expecting anything any different? And does anyone doubt for longer than a micro-second that if Gonzales is, indeed, forced out, he won't be replaced with yet another crony potentially even more loathsome and incompetent than Gonzales himself? And even if such official is so unacceptable that even the Democratic majority won't approve him (or her), is there any doubt that we would see yet another recess appointment?
The point of these hearings is, technically, to get to the bottom of the U.S. Attorney firing scandal-- to demonstrate, once and for all, that George W. Bush and Karl Rove (in that order) wanted to use our justice system the same way Vladimir Putin uses his: not to prosecute crimes impartially, but to prosecute partisan enemies, and not to prosecute favored friends... just like the Russians, Chinese, and most banana republics operate, though not the way countries that allegedly respect "the rule of law" operate. But you knew that.
So... in the great scheme of things... best to expose these bastards, rather than to let Gonzales wiggle away with a quick resignation, and have the Administration try to avoid answering these questions.
That's just me, of course. Then again, I'd actually like to see the Virginia Tech shootings investigated in a non-political manner, with a commission that does not include Bush-tool Tom Ridge, and hence, comes up with something other than a cover-up that ignores and glosses over some potentially rather troubling issues. Of course... that's just me, as well.
Update (4-22-07): Slithery Senator Spector of Pennsylvania shows us the same snake-like "flexibility" that allowed him to criticize the Military Commissions Act as throwing back Anglo-American jurisprudence by 800 years... and then voting for it! Specifically, Specter now says that A.G. Gonzales is "undermining" and "damaging" to the Bush Administration and the Department of Justice... but then Specter is not joining fellow Republicans in calling for his resignation! No matter... I figured Gonzy to be gone before April. At this point, he may well be serving the salutory purpose of keeping Iraq off of the front pages... I'm betting that he rides this out. Though, I'm not betting very much.
Comments
It's a family pathology, I think. Remember back when Barbara Bush was america's lovable grandmother because she had grey hair and she wore a size fourteen and she wasn't Nancy Reagan?
Nielsie made a little woopsie with a really lot of other peoples' money back then, and Grandma Barbara made a little stern face and told the press they were not going to cover it, and damned if the press didn't respect her delicate motherly sensibilities and not cover it, because who wants to offend the nation's lovable grandmother?
This isn't confidence. This is someone with generations of upper class privilege telling him that it's just plain tacky for his little fuckups to be mentioned in public.
Posted by julia at April 21, 2007 1:56 PM
You should read Dahlia Lithwick at Slate on Gonzo's "performance".
I think she has it right when she observes that he toed the unitary executive line perfectly, which is, apparently, that he was there as a courtesy to the Senate.
Posted by Flywheel at April 22, 2007 11:44 AM