Gonzales, Bush’s battered Attorney General, has officially stepped down, meaning that the only original member of Bush’s team is VP Dick Cheney
President Bush is a man who values loyalty above almost everything else. This was extremely evident during the Harriet Miers debacle, as well as the interminable reign of Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense. However, the President’s obsession with loyalty is perhaps best exemplified by his unwavering support of disgraced Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
Gonzales has been accused of firing 9 U.S. Attorneys for political reasons, and this issue has become a major sticking point with the now Democratic Congress. The Justice Department is seen as completely dysfunctional by many, including a number of prominent Republicans. There is a major investigation into what happened, and Gonzales is also accused of lying to Congress about the firings. Even though there has not yet been a finding of guilt, the credibility of Gonzales, and those around him, has been absolutely shattered.
Bush’s inability to let people such as Gonzales go, even when his own political capital is being spent defending their indefensible mistakes, has created a problematic situation for those in charge of the direction of the White House in the next 18 months. There is a real sense from those close to him that Gonzales should have quit (or been fired himself) 5 or 6 months ago. As it stands now, Bush is seen by the public as having backed a dishonest member of his team, and is being skewered by the media for this support.
Gonzales should have left the Justice Department ages ago, but because of Bush’s insistence on absolute loyalty, this never happened. Instead, Gonzales stayed on in a way that has only hurt his boss, and may very well resonate in the minds of the public come voting time next November.
