Alberto Gonzales: Dead Man Walking
If this Politico story is to be believed (and I’ve found their early work pretty trustworthy to date), the resignation of Alberto Gonzales is a matter of when, not if:
Republican officials operating at the behest of the White House have begun seeking a possible successor to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, whose support among GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill has collapsed, according to party sources familiar with the discussions.
Among the names floated Monday by administration officials are Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and White House anti-terrorism coordinator Frances Townsend. Former Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson is a White House prospect. So is former solicitor general Theodore B. Olson, but sources were unsure whether he would want the job.
Republican sources also disclosed that it is now a virtual certainty that Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty, whose incomplete and inaccurate congressional testimony about the prosecutors helped precipitate the crisis, will also resign shortly. Officials were debating whether Gonzales and McNulty should depart at the same time or whether McNulty should go a day or two after Gonzales. Still known as “The Judge” for his service on the Texas Supreme Court, Gonzales is one of the few remaining original Texans who came to Washington with President Bush.
In a sign of Republican despair, GOP political strategists on Capitol Hill said that it is too late for Gonzales’ departure to head off a full-scale Democratic investigation into the motives and timing behind the firing of eight U.S. attorneys.
“Democrats smell blood in the water, and (Gonzales’) resignation won’t stop them,” said a well-connected Republican Senate aide. “And on our side, no one’s going to defend him. All we can do is warn Democrats against overreaching.”
We’ll see – it did seem to me that the story did lose a bit of momentum today, but it may be too late for Gonzales. I’d now put his odds at survival at about 5-2 against…
My disillusionment with the political “skills” of the Bush White House is growing . . but even they would not be foolish enough to expose Sec. Chertoff to a new round of confirmation hearings as a nominee for A.G.
And just like Clinton couldn’t fire Reno because DOJ could not have taken the confirmation hearings for a successor, Bush is in a similar dilemma. Looks like AG AG could be around for a while.
The White House “message” shop is in serious need of re-tooling. Bring back Karen Hughes?
The administration seems to be a little out of practice answering questions. It would be nice however, if the truth didn’t need to be spun.
[...] Is anybody intererested in what was termed an overblown personnel matter? One or two people: News Desk, The Moderate Voice, NewsBusters.org, American Spectator, The Carpetbagger Report, Shakespeare’s Sister, Crooks and Liars, Associated Press, The Mahablog, The Daily Background, Wonkette, The Strata-Sphere, Political Radar, Power Line, Taylor Marsh, Sister Toldjah, The Reaction, Daily Kos, Unqualified Offerings, Right Wing Champ, Macsmind, Multi Medium, The Volokh Conspiracy, Heading Left, The Swamp, Middle Earth Journal, Matthew Yglesias, TVNewser, Needlenose, Hot Air, Chicago Tribune, Discourse.net, Outside The Beltway, Wizbang, Political Animal, Decision ‘08 and Tennessee Guerilla Women [...]
[...] Last night, I put the odds of Alberto Gonzales surviving AttorneyGate at 5-2 against; I see Slate, with their new feature the Gonzo-Meter, has it a mere 55-45 against his survival. Read the details here… [...]