Another Rat Jumps Ship

[sspadowsky]

I wonder when he will get his medal?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20459520/

Gonzales has resigned as attorney general
Official announcement expected later today

BREAKING NEWS
by Steven Lee Myers
Updated: 9 minutes ago

WACO, Tex. - Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, whose tenure has been marred by controversy and accusations of perjury before Congress, has resigned. A senior administration official said he would announce the decision later this morning in Washington.

Mr. Gonzales, who had rebuffed calls for his resignation, submitted his to President Bush by telephone on Friday, the official said. His decision was not immediately announced, the official added, until after the president invited him and his wife to lunch at his ranch near here.

Mr. Bush has not yet chosen a replacement but will not leave the position open long, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the Attorney General's resignation had not yet been made public.

Mr. Bush had repeatedly stood by Mr. Gonzales, an old friend and colleague from Texas, even as he faced increasing scrutiny for his leadership of the Justice Department, including his role in the dismissals of nine United States attorneys late last year and questions about whether he testified truthfully about the National Security Agency's surveillance programs.

"We're watching a political exercise," Mr. Bush said at a news conference this month, dismissing accusations that the Attorney General had stonewalled or misled a congressional inquiry. "I mean, this is a man who has testified, he's sent thousands of papers up there. There's no proof of wrong."

Mr. Gonzales's resignation is the latest in a series of high-level departures that has reshaped the end of Mr. Bush's second term. Karl Rove, another of Mr. Bush's close circle of aides from Texas, stepped down two weeks ago.

The official said that the decision was Mr. Gonzales's and that the president accepted it grudgingly. At the same time, the official acknowledged that the turmoil over his tenure as Attorney General had made continuing difficult.

"The unfair treatment that he's been on the receiving end of has been a distraction for the department," the official said.
Copyright © 2007 The New York Times

[Grislygus]

Awwww, poor widdle thing.

[mburbank]

LET THE SPECULATION BEGIN!

Up to now, there has been simply no plus side to W letting Gonzo resign. W's approval isn't going to go any lower, and Gonzo resigning means they'll have to put up a replacement who'll have to go through an ugly confirmation hearing.

What changed the math?

1.) Is Gonzo just sick of being a punching bag and making a public fool of himself?
2.) Did Specter tell W he'd vote for Gonzo's impeachment?
3.) Is some new piece of evidence about to come to light?
4.) Is W about to crown himself overlord and this is a distraction?

[Geggy]

it is rumored that michael jerkoff will take over his position :highfives

[mburbank]

Oh here's some related hilarity!

The rumor circulating Washington right now is that W wil put up Chertoff for the job.

Hmmmm. A record of incompetance, slavish bootlicker, looks like the spector of death...

Yeah, attorney General material fer sure

[Miss Modular]

The only people who have yet to "resign" from their positions are Bush and Cheney themselves. Hmm...