Goodbye Gonzales

Well, no shock this morning that Alberto Gonzales finally resigned. He'd obviously been beleaguered by the controversy over those fired U.S. Attorneys and his testimony which was so at odds with other Bush administration officials. When Senators of both parties are saying they have no confidence in the chief law enforcement officer of the United States, it was only a matter of time. Gonzales's departure, along with the announcement that Karl Rove is leaving, really marks the end of the Texas gang for Bush. Gonzales was Bush's counsel in Texas, famously getting him out of having to serve on a jury in a drunk driving case. The voir dire would have revealed Bush's old DWI arrest and thrown his campaign into turmoil. (It later emerged anyway.) That was Gonzales's one slick move. Otherwise he seemed hapless and hopeless, making John Ashcroft look like Oliver Wendell Holmes. There was the memo he signed explaining why the U.S. should end its decades-long compliance with the Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners. There was his headlong rush to Ashcroft's hospital room to get him to sign off of extending the president's secret wiretap program. Talk about the "soft bigotry of low expectations" to use a famous Bush phrase.
It's hard to say who would replace him. Obviously the administration wants a smooth confirmation through a Democratic Senate. Michael Chertoff, the Homeland Security Secretary, is already being named. But his nomination would raise questions about his handling of the Katrina mess just as the second anniversary of the storm approaches. As a former U.S. Attorney and judge though it would be hard to question his legal qualifications. If there was a former U.S. Senator, like Spencer Abraham, that might do the trick. Maybe Pesico's Larry Thompson, who is African American, and served in the Bush Justice Department. Ted Olson, my old attorney and the former Solicitor General, might step in. He's the best qualified but as the attorney who argued Bush v. Gore, it's a slap to Democrats. If Orin Hatch was willing to give up his Utah Senate Seat for a year as a lame duck AG it would be ideal for the White House. But it's hard to imagine that's how he wants to end his 30 year career in the Senate.

Whoever Bush appoints, basic policies like antitrust and the environment and the cases brought by the civil division are unlikely to change at all. The biggest legal change George W. Bush wrought was the appointment of Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Sam Alito. Both will be making law long after anyone remembers the sad and troubled tenure of Alberto Gonzales.

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