Things To Ask

There are really only two questions the Senate Judiciary Committee needs to ask Alberto Gonzales today:
  1. Why are you such a lying turkey?
  2. When are you going to resign?
But that would make for an unduly short hearing, so here are a few more questions, just to fill in the time:
That's Mark Kleiman for TAP. In all seriousness, I hope the Democrats don't screw this up. There's a tension at these hearings between a party's desire to accomplish something -- find the truth, advance a partisan/ideological agenda, whataver -- and individual Senators' proclivity for preening and wasting time (yes, Joe Biden, I'm looking at you).

Comments

Weird.

Posted by: crack on April 19, 2007 08:58 AM

Are we going title-free today? Are you trying to start a trend?

Posted by: Ryan on April 19, 2007 09:13 AM

Why taint a noble creature like the turkey with a comparison to Gonzales?

Posted by: jerry on April 19, 2007 09:17 AM

"There's a tension at these hearings between a party's desire to accomplish something -- find the truth, advance a partisan/ideological agenda, whataver -- and individual Senators' proclivity for preening and wasting time (yes, Joe Biden, I'm looking at you)."

Really? I thought the only tension was between one individual senator's proclivity for preening and wasting time, and the other senators' proclivity for doing same.

Also, jerry said "taint."

Posted by: too many steves on April 19, 2007 10:01 AM

(yes, Joe Biden, I'm looking at you)

Curiously, Biden isn't up until the end. Leahy = smart.

And Gonzo's looking pretty screwed. When Lindsey Graham asked him to judge himself by the criteria he set for the US Attorneys, it looked like the memo was sent to throw AG AG under the bus.

Posted by: pseudonymous in nc on April 19, 2007 01:04 PM

People analyze this situation as if the Executive is playing a game of strategy with Congress and its important for the Democrats to make sure they don't misstep, overreach, underreach or whatever. But sometimes I think we vastly overrate the intelligence behind decision-making in the Executive branch. Its kind of like Hitler's Germany. He looked like a genius when he gained power, rescued the economy and then blew through Poland and France. But after invading the USSR? Not so much. Sometimes people have only one card to play and it works for a while so we give them too much credit. But then when circumstances no longer favor stubborn refusal to give in to reality... the picture changes.

Posted by: mpowell on April 19, 2007 03:41 PM

"preening" will win. Look at my own Sen. Spector. He'll be a real bear for the camera. But I bet he'll find a way to support Gonzales in the end.

Most of the Democrats do not ask good questions. They want to look good for the camera and good questions may not do that. Preening always looks good in the sound bites that'll be shown on local TV.

I don't believe most of them understand or care about the hard issues in play. Sen. Spector understands, and he cares enough to protect his President and his Presidents man. The boy is reliable.

Posted by: zak822 on April 19, 2007 04:51 PM

This is another case of affirmative action hiring (actually, a combination of affirmative action and cronyism) biting the Bush administration in the ass. Gonzalez simply is not a competent attorney general. The firing of the prosecutors is of course a non-scandal that the Dems are turning into a fishing expedition, but a more astute AG would have never given them this opening.

If only Bush were as focused on merit when filing his cabinet as he was when nominating Alito and Roberts for the Supreme Court. It's not like Bush got any credit for having the most diverse cabinet ever; since there's no political benefit to it, why not just hire the best people, whatever hue their skin?

Posted by: Fred on April 20, 2007 01:18 AM

Sohbet thank you

Posted by: sohbet on September 22, 2007 07:54 AM

Good comment.Thanks admin.

Posted by: youtube on November 17, 2007 04:08 AM

thanks

Posted by: youtube on May 22, 2008 02:27 PM

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