Gonzales Resigns; We Won’t Be Missing You
Alberto Gonzales resigned as Attorney General. The public embarrassment is over.:
Alberto Gonzales, the nation’s first Hispanic attorney general, announced his resignation Monday, ending a nasty, monthslong standoff over his honesty and competence at the helm of the Justice Department.
Republicans and Democrats alike had demanded his resignation over the botched handling of FBI terror investigations and the firings of U.S. attorneys, but President Bush had defiantly stood by his Texas friend until accepting his resignation Friday.
“It has been one of my greatest privileges to lead the Department of Justice,” Gonzales said in a brief statement in Washington. He said his resignation will take effect on Sept. 17, 2007.
Steven Taylor is pleased too:
Anyone who has been reading PoliBlog in the last six months or so will know that I am pleased with this news. At best Gonzales has been incompetent and unsuited for the job and at worst he has been an AG with an inappropriate relationship with the truth who was oriented not towards public service and law enforcement, but instead to the narrow interests of his boss. Of course, the best and worst here are not mutually exclusive.
Solicitor General Paul Clement will fill in for Gonzales until a permanent replacement is found. On the short list is Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. Yeah, the guy running the show during the Hurricane Katrina recovery should do really well before rabid Democratic Senators on the Judiciary Committee.
Michelle Malkin is happy Gonzales is leaving, but not happy if Chertoff were his replacement. The immigration bill mess continues to ripple across the political pond.
President Bush would be better off finding a fresh face. I’d go with Ted Olson, but he’s helping Rudy Giuliani get elected President.
“Attorney General Gonzales Resigns”
UPDATE: At The Corner Robert Alt comments that Olson would make a great AG nominee, but he doesn’t need it on his already-impressive resume. He’d still make a great Supreme Court nominee.
I wouldn’t proclaim the public embarrassment over too soon. Bush still has to name a replacement. Of the three named in the Times article, I’m not sure any would go over in Congress (of course, one could say who would be welcomed by a Dem Congress).