Firewall

It's important to remember that Alberto Gonzales is not being pushed into a new and uncomfortable position as he lies, stonewalls, and obfuscates on behalf of our Commuter and Thief, George W. Bush. Even back in Texas, Gonzales was running interference for Dubya, helping then Governor Bush avoid jury duty. It was Gonzales who put together a b.s. pretext back in 1996 that shielded Gov. Bush from having to fill out a jury questionnaire that would have forced Dubya to reveal his DUI conviction. (For more on this sorry episode, read here.)

Throughout their long relationship, Gonzales has embraced the role that so many of Bush's circle fall into, that of enabler. In both his business and political careers, Bush has tended to screw up, while his family and friends have been forced to clean up. Alberto Gonzales' personal loyalty to Bush is every bit as deep as Bobby Kennedy's was to his brother, Jack. I shouldn't have to point out to my readers that I intend no insult to the memory of JFK and RFK by this unfortunate comparison!

Gonzales is not at all conflicted by the need to abandon his sworn duty to uphold the law as Attorney General. His only sense of obligation is to his patron. The right-wing Republican Senator from South Carolina, Lindsey Graham, appealed to Gonzales' sense of patriotism in calling upon the Attorney General to resign. Some Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill still cling to the fading hope that Gonzales might be prevailed upon to "do the right thing."

Yet this hope rests on a false premise: that Gonzales' sense of "right" includes any commitment whatsoever to preserving our democracy. Protecting his patron is what he believes to be his highest calling. The preservation of his own integrity was a cause willfully abandoned many years ago.