Time for Gonzales to go
The pathetic testimony of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Thursday left me wondering whether he really believes that he can hang onto his job. If he's loyal to President Bush, Gonzales should step down over how he handled the U.S. attorney firing mess, as well as the many stories he has told about his involvement in the process that lead to the firings. Gonzales has lost all credibility on this issue.
Even Republicans in the Senate were skeptical Thursday. This is from today's Los Angeles Times:
"Your characterization of your participation is significantly, if not totally, at variance with the facts," said Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the ranking Republican on the committee.Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called the explanations "a stretch."
"It's clear to me that some of these people just had personality conflicts with people in your office or at the White House and, you know, we made up reasons to fire them," Graham said.
"There are some very serious problems, Mr. Attorney General," said Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.). "Your ability to lead the Department of Justice is in question."
Sen. Tom Coburn (R.-Okla.) was more blunt. "The best way to put this behind us is your resignation," he told Gonzales, becoming the second Republican member of the Senate to call for the attorney general to quit.
I won't get into what the Democrats said. The Republicans seem to have a handle of Gonzales' ability to lead the Justice Department.
Yet, exhibiting a stubbornness that seems to define members of the Bush administration, a headline on today's