"Embattled Attorney General Resigns"

Source:  The New York Times – 8/27/2007

Thoughts:  Alberto Gonzales has gone through a lot in recent years, many of it brought upon himself by being poorly prepared.  While there was nothing legally wrong with the firing of 8 US Attorneys in 2006, the handling of the explanation by Gonzales gave the new Democratic Congress the meat they craved in order to attack the White House.  The more Gonzales tried to clarify the situation, the deeper a whole he dug for himself and the administration, leaving his retirement the only possible action.  His departure will not stop the investigation, it does take a little fuel out of the fire. 

Article:  “Embattled Attorney General Resigns”
By Steven Lee Myers and Philip Shenon

WACO, Tex., Aug. 27 — Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, whose tenure has been marred by controversy and accusations of perjury before Congress, announced his resignation in Washington today, declaring that he had “lived the American dream” by being able to lead the Justice Department.

Mr. Gonzales, who had rebuffed calls for his resignation for months, submitted it to President Bush by telephone on Friday, a senior administration official said. There had been rumblings over the weekend that Mr. Gonzales’s departure was imminent, although the White House sought to quell the rumors.

(Article continues.)

Mr. Gonzales appeared cheerful and composed when he announced that he was stepping down effective Sept. 17. His very worst days on the job were “better than my father’s best days,” he said, alluding to his family’s hardscrabble past.

“Thank you, and God bless America,” Mr. Gonzales said, exiting without responding to questions.

In Waco, President Bush said he had accepted the resignation reluctantly. He praised his old friend as “a man of integrity, decency and principle” and complained of the “months of unfair treatment” that preceded the resignation.

“It’s sad,” Mr. Bush said, asserting that Mr. Gonzales’s name had been “dragged through the mud for political reasons.”

The president said the solicitor general, Paul D. Clement, would serve as acting attorney general until a permanent replacement was chosen.

(Read the rest of the article here.)