August 27, 2007
Gonzalez Gets Gone

It looks like Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez is going to that big federal pension fund in the sky now that news of his resignation has been announced.

Good.

The words "riddance" and "bad rubbish" should be included to the above monosyllabic paragraph. Probably to be followed by the popular catch-phrase involving doors and asses and concluded with "Release the hounds".

Yeah. So I wrote the same thing about Karl Rove when he resigned.

The trouble is that I have a low threshold for incompetence. Watching the maudlin mealy-mouthed mumblings mouthed by Gonzalez during the Senate hearings was enough to set any person's teeth on edge. When you're the highest ranking attorney in the land and Chuck Schumer of all people makes you look like a slack-jawed yokel during your testimony, yeah, it's time to hang it up and start watching the People's Court.

The reason for the resignation must be the botched handling of the U.S. attorney firings. Incidentally, the correct response to that teapot tempest should have been "Yeah. We canned all eight of them. They were screw ups who wouldn't prosecute blatant examples of election fraud. Plus Bush didn't like the way John McKay parted his hair. He had sweaty palms. Shifty eyes. Small feet."

Instead you have an example of a career politician who meets destiny and doesn't have change for a twenty.

Conservatives will applaud the resignation because of the administration's and Gonzalez apparent total lack of concern over border security, prosecuting employers who engage in illegal hiring practices and the use of false Social Security numbers by employees

The only real surprise with this resignation is the timing. You know, there's a big old three day holiday coming up this weekend. Doesn't the textbook state that embarrassing resignations be postponed until Friday's?

Posted by DonWard at August 27, 2007 08:51 AM | Email This
Comments
1. So what you are saying is that jackass witch hunts are a good tactic for democrats to use in the future when they don't like the powers vested in the office of the president by the constitution?

I agree with your analysis though. They should have given congress the single finger salute about the firings...and say they may fire more before it's all said and done.

Posted by: Andy on August 27, 2007 09:14 AM
2. I prefer to look on the bright side.

Gonzalez' obvious incompetence kept Bush from nominating him for the Supreme Court, and we ended up with John Roberts, who made Chuck Schumer and Joe Biden (the Dems' A-Team) look like total schmucks in the confirmation hearings. In the same spirit, Harriet Meiers MUST have been a head-fake for Joe Alioto.

Thus, when all the high-falutin' investigations are concluded, and the last ding-dong of destiny has gone and dung-donged, and Henry Waxman STILL looks like the north end of a south-bound mule, Bush will have ended up giving us two solid gold SCOTUS members.

And that ain't bad. Adios, Alberto. Que cosa mala es la guerra politica.

Posted by: Rey Smith on August 27, 2007 09:24 AM
3. I think Bush should make a recess appointment of John Ashcroft. How much fun would that be?

Posted by: Bill Cruchon on August 27, 2007 09:30 AM
4. One man's good attorney is another man's incompetent attorney.

Gonzales, I am sure, is a good attorney, but that isn't the problem. The problem was he was too nice. Like in Bush nice.

When we look back at the Bush presidency, we are going to see too much nice. That has been his biggest failing. He thought he could transform a corrupt and evil culture, but he couldn't. The people most likely to like all his spending ended up villifying him.

Posted by: swatter on August 27, 2007 09:40 AM
5. Bye!!!! What a FAILURE of an administration. The rats are jumping ship.

Posted by: Steve on August 27, 2007 09:50 AM
6. It's a sad day when miniscule disagreements over procedure or opinion translate into claims of "incompetence".

Posted by: John Bailo on August 27, 2007 09:53 AM
7. Swatter, once again we see eye to eye.
Though I would add the dems have no substance to their souls so they resort to the tactics of character smearing. Chucky Schumer is having a complex as folks think he's the jr. senator from NY.

Posted by: PC on August 27, 2007 09:56 AM
8. PC, that is a good thing!! :)

Posted by: swatter on August 27, 2007 10:03 AM
9. Justice Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr.

Posted by: Obi-Wan on August 27, 2007 10:20 AM
10. Well Don, will you answer my question from several threads ago?? I will not go away. You apparently cannot defend giving money to people that waste it down a rat hole so you do your best to avoid the question. I am not going away.

Posted by: pbj on August 27, 2007 10:50 AM
11. "The trouble is that I have a low threshold for incompetence. "

BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA

Apparently not so when it comes to DOT. You have the patience of JOBE for incompetence then.

Posted by: pbj on August 27, 2007 10:53 AM
12. Wow, look at that. A SP admin is posting an article that directly contradicts everything everyone on this board has said previously about Gonzalez.

Nice job bucking the trend and having some common sense. =)

Posted by: Cato on August 27, 2007 11:46 AM
13. You know what the Gonzales firing (of course publically it was resignation) does best is exemplify how not to be an AG. The AG is supposed to be the top law official in the nation (or state). They should put the public's confidence in law enforcement above any political shenanigans. If they can't do that for the small amount of time they are AG, then they shouldn't be AG in the first place. Gonzales failing, makes the job Ashcroft did shine, even if I didn't necessarily agree with Ashcroft on everything. Put Gonzales on the junk-pile of poor AG, along with Kathleen ? of Florida.

A side note, it also goes to show that the makeup of an AG doesn't necessarily equate to a person who is a good politician. Take for instance our own states former AG, she at least did a lot better job (although not as good as the current AG is doing) in the AG office than in her current position. Too bad the Republicans want to recycle the used car salesman, smooth smiley Rossi, instead of running someone who will actually take the best interests of the state in mind instead of padding the pockets of the special interest lobbyist that fun their campaign. I shutter at a Rossi-CG round two. Can't we do better than this?

Posted by: tc on August 27, 2007 12:15 PM
14. Obi-Wan (#9):

Ouch. You are sooooo right. Of COURSE it's Sam Alito! My bad, my bad, my bad.

And Alioto another fellow Jersey boy, too (like Tony S)! Whatsamatta wit me? I must be losin' my fricken marbles!

Rey Smith (South Jersey native)

Posted by: Rey Smith on August 27, 2007 12:23 PM
15. Kimo Sabe, you aren't going to take that from Cato are you?

Posted by: swatter on August 27, 2007 12:24 PM
16. See, Cato, this is the problem with you fringe nutters.

You exaggerate effortlessly, and, because you lack the ability, you don't even give it a second thought.

You see, Cato, YOU are on this board. And since you never have anything good to say about anyone to the right of Lenin, the fact is that he didn't contradict anything YOU wrote on this board.

Did he?

That said, the resignation was a total mistake that compounded all of the earlier mistakes. The only thing this will accomplish will be to embolden the democrat scum whose thirst for power must be quenched, no matter how many bodies they climb on to achieve it. Now, the only question is this: "Who are they going to cull out of the herd next?"

The Administration's incompetence in handling this easy political problem is truly frightening. Their failure to take the position outlined by Ward was a critical error that will cost us huge.

The failure to put this to bed when it happened was crucial. Trying to explain or justify to democrat scum not interested in explanations or justifications was a loser from the start.

We make the same mistakes, over and over and over. And, as a result, any strategist in the administration who advocated any of this sorry course of action shouldn't be allowed to advise a 6th grade class president.

Posted by: Hinton on August 27, 2007 12:59 PM
17. DonWard, good thing for you Stefan has a higher threshold for incompetence than you do.

Kidding, kidding!

That said, this is BS: "The reason for the resignation must be the botched handling of the U.S. attorney firings." Why no, that's not true. Maybe he just wanted to move on. How many Attorneys General last many years? Janet Reno is the exception to the rule, and I'd take Gonzalez over her any day. Gonzalez' 2.5 years is about average.

Conservatives will applaud the resignation because of the administration's and Gonzalez apparent total lack of concern over border security, prosecuting employers who engage in illegal hiring practices and the use of false Social Security numbers by employees

Nonsense. I am a conservative by any standard, and I not only welcome the prosecution of such employers, I encourage it. It's the only real way to stop the influx of illegals. A fence won't do it.

Posted by: pudge on August 27, 2007 01:54 PM
18. Just sicko politics . . . nothing more

Gonzalez did nothing wrong except flinch when the rats attacked.
While we won't likely do better than him in the future, we will certainly do worse.
. . . but the real point is . . . the rats won the day.

Blurring the distinctions between right & wrong by perverting reality with false equivocations,
destroying decency and honesty is a hobby cherished by the left and some who pretend
(especially to themselves) they are on the right.

Gonzalez did NOTHING wrong except flinch when attacked by rats.

Posted by: Amused by liberals on August 27, 2007 03:37 PM
19. "destroying decency and honesty is a hobby cherished by the left and some who pretend (especially to themselves) they are on the right."
--
Oh, are you back? Are you "amused" by that paragon of conservatism, Sen. Larry Craig, Idaho REPUBLICAN?

I guess "the left" destroyed him too, right? That decent, honest man.


Posted by: ivan on August 27, 2007 03:56 PM
20. I'd say you were in the stall next to him on your hands and knees to gain such "insight" right Ivan? Ivan going in three, two, one..

Posted by: Smokie on August 27, 2007 04:20 PM
21. I think Gonzo's biggest problem was that he just wasn't up to the job. Anybody who could testify to a Congressional committee that the Constitution did not guarantee the Great Writ is flat out too stupid to be AG of the US. I wouldn't be the least surprised to find out that Gonzo was an affirmative action product.

Unfortunately, stupidity isn't in and of itself a firing offense.

Posted by: MJ on August 27, 2007 04:28 PM
22. I read what Ted Kennedy said this morning. He wants a new AG that will enforce the laws. OK Ted and Liberals lets get an AG that will enforce immigration laws. Take to task Immigration Officials that say they are not their to prevent illegal immigration or catch Drug Dealers. A perfect AG attack the big problems. Lets go after those businesses that give jobs to illegals. Since the senate did not like a moderate AG. Lets put a conservative by the book AG into office. If President Bush would ever support an AG that would be tough on illegals.

Posted by: David Anfinrud on August 27, 2007 04:34 PM
23. Hey Ivan, I didn't see the part in the article where he was running a brothel out of his office.
Oh, that was Barney Frank. Well I didn't see the fridge of cash in that article either...oops wrong one there too. The spouse benefiting from gov contracts. Oops, Pelosi. Well how about the son lobbyist....Nuts, Harry from Nevada.
How about an AG that enforces the law. And since Boy Clinton made taxes retro-active, chappaquidick comes to mind.

Posted by: PC on August 27, 2007 06:54 PM
24. Pudge.
We're just in disagreement over the first half of your comment. Opinions, opinions. Confused over the second. Either there's a double-negative somewhere I missed or else we're in complete agreement. (Was humming your G. Bush is Hitler ditty at the protest today. You should have been there!)

Good comments mostly. I'll note that Gonzalez' "incompetence" stems not from his abilty as a lawyer but as a politician; often two seperate skill sets.

#10 Ka-Ching!!!

Posted by: Don Ward on August 27, 2007 07:09 PM
25. Watch 'em slink away, but the stench will remain.

It'll probably last 25 years or so. January '09 will be like spraying perfume in the room.

Posted by: WVH on August 27, 2007 07:57 PM
26. From: wvh@boeing.com

I don't know who the dishonest lying loser is:

"25. Watch 'em slink away, but the stench will remain.

It'll probably last 25 years or so. January '09 will be like spraying perfume in the room.


Posted by WVH at August 27, 2007 07:57 PM"

Again, this is not me. Not only are you terminally stupid, it must be terrible to have so little self esteem that one must hijack the moniker of another. I request that this idiot refrain from using my moniker. How about POS or
Jackass, they are more suited to you.

Posted by: WVH on August 27, 2007 11:14 PM
27. Oh by the way, to the imposter at #25, I forgot to add that you have to be a lying secular progressive weasel. Only some one of that persuasion would on at least two occasions attempt to be me. If you try to pose as me again, at least make you comments literate and not the stupid remarks you are intent on posting. Better yet, reveal your true identity, you weasel.

Posted by: WVH on August 27, 2007 11:26 PM
28. When will people realize that the partys are one?
Our short memorys will be our downfall. We get sick of Dems so we vote Repub. Repubs screw up so we get Dems to protect us from the Repub, on and on, ad nauseatum all the while the situation gets worse and worse. Obviously different partys don't work. Someone fill in the blank below:

Religion divides us, spirituality unites us. Politics divides us, ____________ unites us.

Posted by: Blonddbythelight on August 28, 2007 06:01 AM
29. This is the real me taking issue with part of #28's comments.

"Religion divides us, spirituality unites us. Politics divides us, ____________ unites us."

No, neither religion nor politics divides us, professional hatred of anything that is different does. Having been the object of a cyber stalker who uses my moniker to comment, that is not blogging that divides, it is hatred.

People who hate come in all flavors and they use insitutions as a vehicle for their hatred. Religion and politics are convenient for people that hate. It is very easy to go on a crusade or jihad and say it is in the service of one's God, actually it is in the service of self. I have made one comment about the situation with Stefan and the unhinged waitress. First, anyone attacking a child because they disagree with the politics of a parent is, in my opinion, a low-life piece of scum, no matter their life circumstance. In my opinion, no matter your flavor or income level, there are universal standards of just plain decency. My theory is this woman has so much hatred and venom that she unleashed it just as people that hate a particular race, religion, or creed unleash their venom at a convenient target.

So, unlike the new age pyscho babble you seem to be proprosing, my theory is this, people who are haters are little time bombs just waiting to explode and they come in all flavors. The particular insitution they use like a tent for cover does not really address what is at the core problem and that is deep internal dysfunction and a corroded soul. Hatred tends to do that to people.

Posted by: WVH on August 28, 2007 06:56 AM
30. Don Ward: oh, I apparently misunderstood YOU. You were saying Gonzalez is NOT prosecuting employers ... but he is. It's begun more in earnest just in the last month.

Posted by: pudge on August 28, 2007 07:28 AM
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