Gonzales: "No Place For Politics At Justice"
(CBS)
Twenty-four-and-one-half pages into a 26-page
“I believe very strongly that there is no place for political considerations in the hiring of our career employees or in the administration of justice,” the Attorney General writes. “As such, the allegations of such activity have been troubling to hear. From my perspective, there are two options available in light of these allegations. I could walk away or I could devote my time, effort and energy to fix the problems. Since I have never been one to quit, I decided that the best course of action was to remain here and fix the problems. That is exactly what I am doing.”
No one is fooled any longer by Gonzales’ Captain Renaud imitation. Surely he is not really shocked—SHOCKED!—to find his Justice Department politicized. After all, he is one of the people who helped politicize it. It was Gonzales who failed to protect career professionals at Justice; it was Gonzales who encouraged or tolerated the hiring practices that brought partisan hacks into the Department at the expense of non-partisan veterans. And it was Gonzales who allowed his patrons at the White House to turn Justice into just another arm of Karl Rove’s political machinery.
In a piece Tuesday focusing upon Gonzales’ testimony, and the related news that the House of Representatives is pushing ahead with contempt proceedings against White House chief of staff Joshua Bolton and former White House counsel Harriet Miers, the Washington Post’s Dan Eggen wrote:
Most members of Gonzales's senior staff have resigned or are on the way out. Several outside candidates turned down chances to be considered for the job of his deputy, and more than a half-dozen other top positions remain filled by temporary appointees. Some of the department's key legislative priorities -- including intelligence law revisions and anti-crime proposals -- have also bogged down because of the fight with Democrats over the prosecutor firings.Doesn’t matter. Gonzales goes to Capitol Hill Tuesday and argues that the person responsible for causing the problem should be the one responsible for fixing it. Wouldn’t it be nice if the rest of us were allowed by our bosses to oversee the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the worst foul-ups we’ve ever accomplished in our professional lives? Would it be great if the narratives we conjure up in our minds to rationalize our colossal failings at work, or in our personal lives, were given the full force of law? And if the only person who could fire us had decided instead to keep us at our post to prove a point to his enemies and ours?
"It takes away from normal work," one recently departed Justice official said about the persistent controversy over Gonzales's role in the firings and the use of improper political considerations in hiring career employees. "It obviously has a serious impact,” said the former official, who would discuss the department's internal workings only if not identified.
Gonzales devoted only a few paragraphs to the scandal. It’s clear he wants to pretend it is going away even as a grand constitutional showdown looms over Congressional questions about Justice Department practices. But even as he tries to gloss over his failed leadership it’s clear he lacks the judgment and decency to lead. Why? Because the guy thinks that his refusal to quit is a sign of some inner strength, as if anyone cares any longer about Gonzales’ inner struggle for respect and courage.
If the Attorney General wants to prove a point about redemption and resolve, let him instead go off into the wilderness for a few years and come back with a book that offers a candid look at all that went wrong during his tenure at the Justice Department. Or, better yet, let him come to Congress and tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth instead of trying to defend himself with silly platitudes. He’s failed miserably as Attorney General. And now he’s failing, too, at knowing when it’s time to quit.
Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."
"I have the great pleasure to work with over 100,000 dedicated public servants at the Department of Justice. I admire their dedication to the pursuit of justice for all Americans. The Department%u2019s many accomplishments are, in reality, their accomplishments. As Attorney General, I have worked with these fine men and women to keep our country safe from terrorists, our neighborhoods free from violent crime and, our children safe from predators."
As one of the 100,000 above, Andy, I have to say once and for all to you that it is time to stop the political bickering and time to make sacrifices and serve the public.
If the critics were truly concerned about the state of the USDOJ, they would take the pay cut and join it. As it is, they sit in armchairs and criticize and do nothing.
After 23+ years of public service, I take offense at that. And I suspect the rest of the 100,000 take offense too.
Get off your armchair, Andy. Serve the public.
And that goes for the rest of you critics, too.
Eric
it isn't that the average one doesn't have relatively meaningful engagement with about fifty folk in a day, exchaning like fifty bucks in a day, it's just that media has prestorically had a tendancy to ignore that fact
the world is full of natives that no one reports on, and battered two year olds and four year olds that no one reports on
even the wealthiest cities are littered with far more charity than currency, but no one reports
folk plan to travel when they retire, but retire to find there is no funds for travel after one retires ... folk retire to live awhile, but find the body stops when the body stops: and they don't tend to live all that long
yet the quests for the cures for the common deaths and the quests for the cures for the common immortalitys never cease and fire no one
"Sunday, July 22, 2007
In the final poll of a series measuring perceptions of media bias, the Associated Press, local television stations, MSNBC, and CNBC are all perceived as tilting to the left when reporting the news.
Earlier releases showed that Americans tend to believe the major broadcast networks (CBS,NBC,ABC) CNN, and NPR have a liberal bias. Fox News is seen as having a bias in the other direction. In print, the New York Times, Washington Post, and local newspapers were also seen as having a liberal bias."
.....SO......when? is our liberal MSM wolfpack going to implement "affirmative action" programs that include NOT EXCLUDE "moderates" and "conservative".
And we wonder why our corrupt liberal MSM wolfpack press hasn't had "big stories" reporting these opinions from the American public.
Gee.........I wonder why.
Gonzo is going to be a key figure in the constitutional show down between congress and the chimp.
Gonzo will block congressional efforts, and back the chimp to the hilt. If Gonzo ever has to appoint a special prosecutor, you can bet that person will be a chimpette.
Gonzo is a man with no honor, during a time when men of honor are desprately needed.
Awsome article!
Anyone who's had the unpleasant opportunity to watch Gonzales lie and backpaddle his way through his testimony would agree that the whole thing is just becoming a sad joke. He should resign.
AND
The American people: "No Place for "Partisn" Politics in America's MSM.
It's and election year. The White House and Congress are held by different political parties.
But we do send our best and brightest to Washington to do business on our behalf. Granted, some of it is political, but both houses are gearing up to be not only the most "do nothing" congress in history, but also the "mess everything up" congress. The histrionics and abysmal treatment of public servants reminds me of -- The Clinton Impeachment hearings. Except this time the roles are reversed.
Hey Congress -- get to work or go home so we can elect someone who can work at least part of the time for us.
Impeach Bush/chaney and lock Gonzo up for crimes against America...
- by ericmichael1 July 24, 2007 2:54 PM EDT
- Give it up, Andy. This is old news that was discarded by the American public long ago.
- Reply to this comment
See all 19 CommentsLeave Alberto alone.
No one speaks about the highly political investigation that the U.S. Congress has done on this unimportant incident. They were just political appointees...and lawyers at that.
TWO strikes.
:)
It is time for you to go back to horse blog entries.
Eric