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A few thoughts Gonzo, You're Doin' a Heckuva -- Zap!By Rick Horowitz He had it right the first time. The president, that is, in his Tantrum on the Tarmac down in Waco. "It's sad that we live in a time," George W. Bush said through clenched jaws, "when a talented and honorable person like Alberto Gonzales is impeded from doing important work because -- " Except that the president didn't actually say "impeded" -- he said "impeding." "...when a talented and honorable person like Alberto Gonzales is impeding -- " Finally -- an honest assessment! Naturally it was an accident, a slip of the tongue, and the official White House transcript cleaned it right up. But we heard what we heard. And "impeding"
is exactly what Alberto Gonzales was doing. • • •
This is how straightforward Alberto Gonzales is: He didn't even use the word "resign" to announce that he was resigning. "Yesterday, I met with President Bush and informed him of my decision to conclude my government service as Attorney General of the United States, effective as of September 17, 2007." His decision "to conclude" his "government service as Attorney General" -- what a nice way to put it! Just a normal career move, in the normal course of events. Of course, if you'd asked Alberto Gonzales if the sky was blue, you'd have been treated to a disquisition about the "consensus" of the "senior staff" as it relates to the current light-diffusion qualities of the atmosphere, although "speaking personally," he would have had "no specific recollection" of any "definitive discussions" on the subject, nor could he "recall in any particular detail" any point in time at which he "consciously looked up" at the sky, and therefore -- The man certainly had a way with words. A way with truth
was another matter. •
• • The president seemed genuinely perturbed that "talented and honorable" people could be kept from doing important work because their good names were, as he put it, "dragged through the mud for political reasons." He seemed so
perturbed, in fact, you might have thought for a moment or two that
the term "Swift-boating" was in the dictionary even before the 2004
presidential campaign. •
• • Could you bear
to look at yourself in the mirror if your resume included
"Tried to excuse torture"? •
• • Here are the names of two people George Bush hoped to put on the United States Supreme Court: Harriet Miers. Alberto Gonzales. There have been plenty of hacks and cronies on the court before. There'll surely be hacks and cronies on the court again. But still: Harriet Miers? Alberto Gonzales? These aren't exactly the dreams of someone with great respect for the highest court in the land, wouldn't you agree? More like the schemes of someone who sees the court as just one more Washington political shop. And when you come right down to it, why shouldn't he see it that way? Isn't that how he got to be president in the first place? A 5-4 vote that split entirely along political lines? Hardly the kind of move that inspires reverence for the institution. So Alberto Gonzales
would have been perfect. •
• • It would be comforting to think that, at least once in his years and years of loyal service to George Bush, Alberto Gonzales's assignment was "Tell me if this would be legal," rather than "Find me some way to justify it." But I'm not holding my breath. Posted 8/28/07. Click
to "Rick's" to keep up with the news -- and tell your friends!
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Rick Horowitz
