Ignore Them, Maybe They'll Go Away

Out here in flyover country, maybe the bizarre behavior pattern we see in D.C. has more in common with the statehouse base it derives from than not. I thought you in the enlightened parts of the world might benefit from sages of the plains. Not plain sages, no not that.

In our local, increasingly law-abiding, paper, we have an editorial calling for Abu to resign, and an op-ed saying the cretin in chief should just keep on keeping on. Shades of staying the course.

As embattled Attorney General Al Gonzales began his speech Tuesday to the National Press Club, a nicely dressed, white-haired woman rose and yelled: "Mr. Gonzales, resign! You've dishonored your country. You've destroyed the Constitution."

The attorney general ignored her as she was hustled out. And, after parrying more than a dozen questions about his mishandling of the firing of those U.S. attorneys, he made clear again he also isn't listening to members of Congress who have urged him to quit.

"At the end of the day, that really is a question for the president of the United States," he said, secure in knowing President Bush has repeatedly said that he wants his longtime legal adviser to stay.

Outwardly, the attorney general's success in outlasting his critics might indicate that Mr. Bush hasn't lost his clout, despite diminished popularity stemming mainly from the Iraq war.

But it may also reflect the fact that the president has little to gain from ousting Mr. Gonzales in terms of bolstering his public standing or clout on Capitol Hill.
(snip)
Yet the White House strategy of simply resisting bipartisan calls for Mr. Gonzales to quit is succeeding – at least so far.

Barring impeachment, no one can force a president to remove an incompetent Cabinet member if he doesn't want to. And Mr. Bush seems far more interested in keeping his close political associate in charge of the Justice Department than in making a change.
(snip)
Ironically, they (Dems) might actually benefit more over time if Mr. Bush allows his embarrassing tenure to continue and it becomes an issue for GOP candidates in next year's election.

Hey, when you admit that incompetence is a given, then it serves the White House to keep some one in office who fits in with the rest of the Gang That Can't Shoot Straight. It's probably true that we have in this White House the first head of our nation who truly had nothing left to lose. I'm not sure that anyone should be goading him to make his policy decisions on that basis, though.

From the main editorial at the Dallas Morning News, I see what's more to the point.

The disgraceful power play failed, but it's revealing of how this White House has at times had no brakes – not the law, nor, in this instance, common decency – on its pursuit of critical policy goals. The Ashcroft incident shows why an independent attorney general – one whose primary loyalty is to the law, not to his boss – was a stumbling block for this administration.
(snip)
It's obvious why having Mr. Gonzales Justice serves the White House's interest. But the public interest? Not so much. This week, Paul McNulty, the Justice Department's No. 2, announced his own resignation.

Mr. Gonzales should take a hint. This is getting beyond embarrassing.

Beyond embarrassing is much too mild a judgment. Beyond the outermost bounds of the rule of law is where the cabal has ranged, and it's time for the law to be enforced.

Our local pundit can see from the behavior of the closing down legislature in Austin the kind of kinky banditry that spawned this White House. Most of our local clowns can go home and ignore the damage they've done. It's unlikely that their henchmen in D.C. will get away with it. Or that this disservice to the U.S. will result in the public's letting them get away with their chicanery.