WHY ARE THESE DUFUSES GRINNING? THE GENIUS OF IDIOT AL "THE TORTURE GUY" GONZALES IS TO HAVE MADE HIMSELF JUST ABOUT IRREPLACEABLE

USEFUL IDIOTS AND GRINNING A.G.'S

by Mags

Even though the hasty exit of Alberto Gonzales is predicted by many, it is likely that behind the scenes his continuing in his position for a time is functional for Bush et al.
 
It should come as no surprise that Gonzales is hesitant to leave or that Bush is hesitant to appoint another in his place. At this point in the game, who can Bush turn to? Think about it for a minute. Gonzales breaks the law whenever he is asked to break it. He has stood behind the Administration as they press further into our private lives with unwarranted wiretaps. He has been supportive of Bush policies of torture and rendition. He was instrumental in prosecuting cases that lined up with Karl Rove’s efforts to shut down the vote by claiming voter fraud. He has been at Bush’s beck and call in all willingness to do whatever it takes to whitewash his boss. It has been his job for a long time.
 
Alberto Gonzales has often been questioned by congress, and on many of those occasions he has perjured himself. As he perjured himself, he would, like George Bush get the most troubling grin on his face. Gonzales wears that eerie grin at the most inappropriate times. I first noticed it in the hearings on the torture bill, the darling of Cheney, Gonzales, and Yoo. However, one cannot believe, after hearing the stories of Gonzales’ arm-twisting of a gravely ill John Ashcroft, a person we thought would do anything for this president, that George Bush is just the happy-go-lucky idiot he is often credited with being. He is, it appears, orchestrating the illegalities and horrors that have many of us paralyzed in disbelief.
 
When you are forced to replace such an official, and I do use the term “official” lightly, what you must do is find someone with no scruples whatsoever. You must find someone who is willing to step into a situation where illegality is already under scrutiny. You must find someone who will not spill their guts about it and also will not throw you, the Commander in Chief, under the impeachment bus. This person must share your greed, your lack of character, and your disdain for the American people and the Constitution. It must be a person who is willing to hand over the machinery of this government of the people, by the people, and for the people to those incompetents who make up a pseudo-educated religious right.
 
Who will prostitute himself in such a dangerous office? Who will come in and stoop to this depth of corruption at the get go? If not even John Ashcroft could find it in himself to go along with these schemes at the height of his power and influence, then who will? That is the problem Bush faces.
 
At this point one can assume that the only folks who would accept this position would be the likes of a James Inhofe or Ted Stevens. It will take someone like Tom DeLay, who even now denies his own criminality and intent. It will take someone with that degree of self-delusion to take the place of Gonzales. In short, you need someone who will lie, who is willing to put the GOP and George Bush ahead of the rule of law and democracy, and who will betray the Constitution, thereby betraying their country and countrymen. Added to that, this person must be willing to dodge the bullets of personal liability in the face of congressional investigation.

That is a tall order. As long as Gonzales remains a target, Bush and Rove can figure out what to do next; no real change needs take place. They can buy some time to cover up. They can spin reality into something that in their last ditch effort might sound plausible. No wonder Bush is in no hurry to push Gonzales out. No wonder Gonzales is doing so much grinning lately.

[Editor's note: Whenever Howie and I talk about the "Gonzales succession," he insists that Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch is ready and willing to take the job, and points out that the chances of the Senate declining to confirm one of its own are not large.--Ken]