Gonzo latest step in ‘Texas Bailout’ dance

I wanted to think awhile, to reflect, before I wrote about the resignation of Alberto Gonzales and I have.

HOLY COW!!!

I’m sure there’s somebody left in the White House from the Lone Star State, besides George and Laura of course, but we have been witnessing a new dance called “The Texas Bailout” this August. First Karl Rove jumped ship, heading toward that lucrative book deal in the sky, and now A.G. the A.G.

He seems to have shaded the truth till the bitter end … actually, after the bitter end. The New York Times reports that he secretly submitted the resignation Friday. But on Sunday, his Justice Department spokesman told the Times Gonzales “… said it wasn’t true, so I don’t know what more I can say.”

By the way, we should note here that George W. Bush lost another longtime member of the family when Dan Bartlett split in July. In fairness it should be pointed out that Bartlett got positive marks from just about everyone. But not so Alberto Gonzales. About the only support he got was from the man who called him “Fredo.”

Slowly but surely the Texas void at the White House is being filled with competent people who understand the complexities of politics and government and are not single-minded ideologues — not counting the vice president’s office of course.

No way that Alberto Gonzales’s work here in Washington is done. Democrats have been treating him in ways that probably violate the Geneva Conventions that Gonzales scorned, and they aren’t about to stop now.

He served, after all, as the president’s enabler when it came to matters like torture, and wiretapping and politicizing U.S. attorney appointments. And that’s just a partial list that the opposition will enjoy picking apart. The Senate’s chief Republican, Kentucky’s Mitch McConnell, calls it “poisonous partisanship.” All too often, Gonzales made it all too easy.

There are some worthy people being named a possible successors. In the minds of so many that person will take advantage of that adage “Always try and follow a bad act.” Let’s face it, Alberto Gonzales may have had a long run, but he got lousy reviews from so many of the critics. The curtain may have fallen on Alberto Gonzales, but his show will still go on.