Posted by
Shogrensus on Wednesday, April 25, 2007 1:17:49 AM
Elisabeth has crossed over and she doesn't seem to realize it. The faces of her co-hosts say it all.
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Elisabeth: Which is odd because even most of the Republicans are really giving Gonzales a hard time. I think it was, I wrote his name down, Republican Tom Coburn said “Why should you not be judged by the same standards by which you judged the dismissed U.S. attorneys.” I believe, I believe that and I believe that if the Bush administration wants to retain credibility they should encourage
Joy: Retain?
Elisabeth: Well, I knew- you know-
Joy: I’m retaining more water than they’re retaining credibility
Elisabeth: I will resume my statement
Rosie: Finish Elisabeth, finish
Joy: Sorry. Go ahead
Elisabeth: If they want to retain credibility he would recommend that he resign. I don’t know how else they can remove themselves from this
***
The truth of this matter is as follows:
This situation has been handled poorly from the beginning. The Republicans should have known better than to talk about any political issue with the Democrats: they should have just declined to engage in any and all discussions about the exercise of Executive Branch authority.
That being said, the Republicans opened the door and are now trying to hold back a stampede. Much harder to re-close a door than to leave it shut in the first place.
There is no way to remove themselves from this situation and any Republican who thinks that the resignation of Mr. Gonzales will settle this issue is absolutely certifiable.
This is only the beginning.
If Gonzales resigns, who will take his place? Who would the Democrats advise the President to send their way for confirmation hearings? To whom would they consent?
The answer is NO ONE WE WOULD WANT!
Additionally, what talented Republican would want the job at this point? The next 18 months will be filled with political dog fight after political dog fight. Knowing that Republicans tend to fight a gentleman's game while Democrats behave like junkyard dogs can not possibly be reassuring to anyone who would consider putting their foot in the ring.
No Republicans are safe. While Sandy Berger walks away after stealing documents from the National Archives that may have influenced the findings of the 9/11 commission, Scooter Libby is going to jail for having remembered something differently than another person about an issue that was determined to be a non-issue. Wolfowitz is about to be thrown to the dogs because he gave his girlfriend a promotion yet we have a Senator running for President only because her husband's coattails were long and his fundraising skills have kept her in the game. We have Republicans under fire because companies they used to work for get government contracts yet no one seems to care that Senator Feinstein's husband's firm has just been awarded an Army contract worth $600 million now and up to over $3 billion dollars over time. (See San Francisco Chronicle Article)
We are currently in more than one war in America. The war going on in America is ultimately far more dangerous than any war going on in the Middle East. The political infighting undermines our credibility around the world and threatens the Constitutional balance of power that has kept out country strong for centuries. If foreign powers see our government as divided in a way that prevents our country from taking action to protect its interests overseas, those foreign powers will be emboldened
This administration may have over stepped its bounds at times. At other times it may have failed to act. This is not to say that disagreement is not at times warranted. It is to point out that the ruthless, political attacks are not helpful.
I hope for Gonzales' sake that whatever decision he makes he will walk with his head held high and his mouth tightly closed.
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