Monday, July 30, 2007

The Dumb Fall Hard

Alberto Gonzales
Who Cares?







Seriously... is there anyone who cares about this guy or this administration anymore? Aside from being an ongoing embarrassment which will not go away. They have very little relevance other then hoping that they do not do any more damage before they get out. There is no question we will still have a 100,000 men in Iraq at the end of the administration. There is also very little question that even in the case of someone’s death they will not appoint another Supreme Court Justice. Their failed foriegn policy has left us with no military force that can threaten anyone and we are so reviled by the rest of the word as to have any influence other then fear and loathing.

Still, Gonzales has provided us with another embarassing, yet divine comedy. Much like Scooter Libby you have to feel sorry for the guy. The misguided sense of loyalty which trumps honesty, the Consitution or any sense of dignity or self respect. And having said all that I want to be clear, Congress is worse. Of that whole Senate Judiciary Committee Arlen Specter is the only one I can currently stomach. I know he is an old time hustler and fixer but whether it is regarding Supreme Court nominees or this current debacle with Gonzales he is the only guy who seems to understand the humor of the situation. And he is the only Republican with the balls to say to Gonzales that he has no cfredibility and frankly he does not believe him.
Think about that. The Attorney General of the United States of America (our head cop, the guy responsible for being the symbol of American justice) has one of the senior Senators from his party say that to him...to his face... about him. Oh the humanity. It was hard to watch...over and over again after it happened on CNN and Meet The Press. Surprisingly Fox (fair and balanced) did not cover it.

CNN said:

But sources involved in discussions with White House officials say,"People are a bit shocked. He didn't win over Democrats and he may have lost a few Republicans. No one privately is saying it's a homerun. No one is saying he did what he needed to do. There's faint praise like he didn't get killed. We understand he's on shaky ground." They went on to quote White House sources saying, “His [Gonzales'] tactic was inexplicable. He keeps saying I know why I made the decision, but I don't know anything else,"

His Republican friends said:

"The communication was atrocious. It was inconsistent -- it's generous to say that there was misstatements; it's a generous statement. And I believe you ought to suffer the consequences that these others have suffered," Coburn said, adding, "I believe the best way to put this behind us is your resignation."
Coburn is the first Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee to call for Gonzales' resignation.

Wow!

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania, told reporters that Gonzales' "credibility has been impaired" and that the case has put career attorneys in a precarious position.

Our friends at Fox labeled Specter as a Democrat...nice “mistake.”

"The moment I believe I can no longer be effective, I will resign as attorney general," Thats what the man said but how can he concievably be effective after that beating. Granted Spector is probably tired of seeing the guy as it becomes more and more clear that the only reason he has not been fired is because Bush knows he could not appoint anyone conservative enough for his base who would have a prayer of being confirmed and then...oh yes...it does distract from his disasterous war policy. Anyhing that keeps the latest Iraqui or Afghan or Pakistani war failure off the front page is a bonus. So what if it further shames our country to have this poor, overmatched, outwitted, wrongheaded yet still stridently loyal man crucified by members of his own party.
***
But why do I say Congress sucks? becuas the two things that have them pissed off, the firing of the U.S. Attorneys for political reasons (which is clearly not illegal although it breaks precedent and is further evidence of an amoral dogmatic White House) and his apparent lack of candor that he went to John Ashcroft’s hospital bed to get him to OK the continuation of the warrentless search and siezure law and his insistance that there was no debate in the Justice department make him a liar. I am tired of Congress getting to the bottom of something that should be very embarrassing for the administration and people perjuring themselves. I cannot get excited about this anymore. Clearly when the White House does something stupid it is expected that subordinates will lie about, humiliate themselves and destory their careers (and damage the Constitution) so that they can be seen as team players.

This is not news anymore. It is not even interesting. Watching Gonzales made me feel the same way I feel watching Paris Hilton explain away her actions or Lindsay Lohan explain hers. this is low drama and low comedy. Congress has some serious things to deal with (consumer debt, sub prime mortgages, hedge funds, the Iraq war, the Afghan War and the destruction of the middle class to name a few) but they lack either the balls, the creativity or the intelligence to do that so instead they engage in the same pathetic melodrama we saw in Clinton’s last Congress where they impeached the President for his recollection of one his White House blow jobs. THAT MY FRIEND IS WHAT REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT IS FOR.
Makes me dream of what it would be like if Hunter Thompson was still alive. Bad Craziness.... Indeed!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

What bothers me about the Gonzales situation -- hell, the last six years -- is the lack of outrage. Gonzales is the just the most recent example of the arrogance of this administration and the utter disdain they hold for anyone or any thing "not them." The Constitution? It's just a piece of paper.
Carter was right the first time: this is the worst administration, ever.