The Alberto Gonzales Deathwatch: What Do You Think?
Today is Friday, the favorite day of the week for high-profile government officials to announce their departures. E.g., Sandra Day O’Connor; Monica Goodling; Cully Stimson.
Might Alberto Gonzales resign as Attorney General today? We doubt it. Coming on the heels of yesterday’s Senate Judiciary Committee testimony, where AGAG took a real beating, it would look too reactive. It would be much more likely for some other DOJ official — e.g., Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty — to step down late this afternoon.
But a Gonzales departure is probably more likely now than ever. Over at Slate, the needle on the “Gonzo-Meter” — which measures the chance of an Alberto Gonzales departure — has moved farther to the right. The Slate folks explain:
We are bumping the meter up to 95. It may take the attorney general a few days to recognize that he did not exactly pull off a rout. But if the president was indeed waiting for his boy to turn this thing around today, the president must have been sorely disappointed. If anything, Gonzales probably lost support today. And if he persuaded even a single soul of his great competence, we’ll eat our meter.
Time for an ATL reader poll:
Gonzo-Meter: Al, You’re Not Helping [Slate]
(7) 
Comments
The only way President Bush is going to let Alberto Gonzales go is if a freak midterm election breaks out and the Democrats win a majority again.
Yesterday's display was a perfect example of Ivy Leaguers and their true worth. You fancy pricks think you're something else compared to the rest of us lowly citizens. In truth, you've largely skated through life on Daddy's money and conections and the only place you're safe is locked in an office making tons of bloody cash.
Leave the law to the rest of us who actually make a practice of it every day in the lowest and highest courts in this land.
I wouldn't hire Al Gonzales to represent me in traffic court! What an absolute embarrassment to the bar!
3:25 is right. If they were going to ditch Gonzo, they would have done so weeks ago. I think we're stuck with him until Hillary returns to the White House (God willing).
3:42: Ummmm, wow. You're fucking scary.
I'm not Gonzales fan -- I'm a liberal Democrat -- but it's the height of ignorance to say that he's "skated through life on Daddy's money." He was born to dirt poor (legal) immigrants. His dad was a construction worker.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Gonzales
Like Donald Rumsfeld, Gonzo will wait until a week goes by where no one has called for his resignation. And then he'll resign. Haven't you noticed? It's the Bush way.
I am starting to think that the only reason Gonzales is still in office is that they haven't yet found someone willing to take his place.
Nah, Orrin Hatch has told the WH he'd do it to cap off his political career.