Going, Going, Gonzo

As you most certainly know by now, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigned on Monday. While this is most certainly good for the country, I'm a bit puzzled by it. Why after all this time did he choose -- or have chosen for him by his calculating superiors -- this time to go? While there are many possibilities, two stand out. First, one of the myriad executive-branch-based investigations of Gonzales and the DoJ scandals have uncovered evidence such that its later revelation will hurt the White House more if Gonzales remains in his current post. Second, the White House has decided to play up the "he's not even AG any more, so let the investigations go" card for public consumption and hope that it flies until January 2009. The two are not mutually exclusive, of course.

What is interesting, at least in part, is how the media have reacted to the departure. Much of the popular media is portraying it as a positive reflection on the President, as if he's somehow finally decided to put the country before his own selfish aims. The LA Times called the move a "blessing" and noted that Bush now has:

...a chance to salvage his relationship with Capitol Hill and the legacy of his second term.

Roger Simon at The Politico also believes that the president is putting his legacy above loyalty.

Once famous for his loyalty to subordinates, Bush is now showing himself very capable of jettisoning the ones who create too much controversy.

Have these people taken leave of their senses? Bush has shown himself to be loyal to the detriment of the country and his duty to it. When he sets that loyalty aside, it is only out of a greater loyalty... to himself. As David Kurtz at TPM puts it:

If, as the evidence overwhelmingly suggests, Gonzales was a mere Bush flunky, a cipher, an amiable man doing the bidding of more powerful and more sinister men, then his departure can hardly be said to herald a new era so long as Bush (and Cheney) occupy the White House.


...


Nearly seven years into his Presidency, don't we have a pretty good idea of the character and abilities of this man [Bush]? There is a long track record now of truly unparalleled incompetence, corruption, and politicization. What more do we need to know? Bush's legacy is firmly entrenched, and barring any seismic historical events between now and January 2009, any changes to that sorry legacy will be at the margins.

Perhaps the main thing that Gonzales' departure highlights is how very much the Bush Administration has harmed the Department of Justice. The very fact that the department currently is missing -- if we assume that Gonzales is already out the door, but for the paperwork -- its top three appointees. This is our chief apparatus for safeguarding the American justice system -- in a "time of war against terrorists" remember -- and it is a rudderless ship. Anyone who still supports the President in any way, shape, or form should be forcibly sterilized. We don't want their genes in our pool.

Yes, that Gonzales is out at the DoJ, no doubt heading to the great lobbyist oasis on the far horizon, is good news. Until Bush and all of his ilk are gone, too, however, America will continue its slide.

29 August 2007