"Thanks, Al, for finishing off that pesky Constitution thingy for me - now here’s your bus ticket."
[No, that’s not confirmed. But if he’s not gone by Friday, I’ll . . . oh, hell. I don’t know. Vote in the comments for what you want me to do if I’m wrong.]
Last week, maladministration partisans kept nattering on about how Bush would never cut Gonzo loose - how Bush was too loyal (*cough* *choke*) to him, too enamored of his "American Dream" bio, yadda, yadda, yadda.
Bullshit.
As soon as it hit the fan, you had to know he’d be gone soon. But the final nail in the coffin came yesterday, when a reporter asked WH SpokesTool Tony Snow whether Gonzo’ll be leavng soon:
SNOW: . . . We hope he stays.
Q: He will remain in office for the rest of the administration?
SNOW: Well, we hope so.
"Well, we hope so"?! WTF kind of response is that?!
Actually, it’s the same kind of damning-with-faint-praise response this administration gives WRT every problem-child official once it’s made the decision to cut that person loose. The moment they trot out the press guy to make bland, pleasant statements about keeping an official on - well, it’s the Bush administration equivalent of waking up to find a horse’s head in your bed.
I never thought Gonzo would survive this. I didn’t think, though, that they’d already be talking about replacements who are objectively fucking incompetent. Olbermann’s reporting that four names are being bandied about by administration buddies: Larry Johnson (who might actually be qualified); Ted Olson (Who’d be fucking scary; having him as SG was bad enough); Frances Fragos Townsend (Bush’s personal anti-terror czar - yeah, I knowl; the jokes write themselves).
What’s that, you say? Only three? Oh. My bad. So who’s four?
DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff.
Stop laughing. No, stop. Really. Seriously. That Michael Chertoff.
Yep. The mike Chertoff who advised the CIA to torture detainees. The Mike Chertoff who oversaw the DOJ’s institutionalization of torture as a legitimate plea bargaining tactic. The Mike Chertoff who coauthored the criminally misnamed USA PATRIOT Act. The same Mike Chertoff who excused the administration’s criminal negligence during Hurricane Katrina on grounds that it "surprised" people. The same Mike Chertoff behind the sweetheart Dubai port "security" deal.
Oh, yes - and how could I forget? The same Mike Chertoff who was one of Ken "Javert" Starr’s most trusted minions in his panty-sniffing prosecution persecution of Bill and Hillary.
But that’s it, of course. Who else could possibly be more qualified (save, of course for the sex-crazed Starr himself)? After all, Mike Chertoff is someone who participated in the systematic effort to destroy that greatest of all threats to national security - TEH CLENIS!
And, you know, with Hillary running for the White House, Teh Clenis will be back . . . .
only a matter of time…before he testifies. perhaps before his chief of staff raises his right hand.
Comment by erizzle — March 27, IST @ 08:2759 AM
Obviously, my timing was a little off. But I still say they’ll cut him loose, and sooner rather than later.
Seriously, erizzle, do you really think he’ll testify? I can’t picture him doing anything more forthcoming than taking the Fifth. Of course, even if he does testify - and even if he does so under oath - I don’t know that we could believe anything he has to say. This pack of criminals has demonstrated over and over that the truth means nothing to them - why should anyone expect administration of the oath to make the slightest difference?
Comment by Administrator — March 28, IST @ 07:2849 AM
yeah, he’s gone before he testifies (or before he’s scheduled to testify). did you see his 3 minute press conference? supporters he might have once had learned their lessons when they spoke up for rummy.
at first i didn’t think much of his chief of staff testifying, but my anticipation now grows.
be well, rational animal. that’s one beautiful view.
Comment by erizzle — March 28, IST @ 10:2811 AM
Thank you, my dear. And isn’t that view spectacular? Just to the left of the mountain you see there are several other peaks in the chain. The day before I took this shot, we’d gotten snow (all melted, obviously), and one of the peaks is covered in white. I’ll try to throw up a shot of it later tonight; it’s really incredible.
WRT Gonzo: I literally cannot wait for tomorrow; I’m gonna be glued to C-SPAN to see what Rove’s illegitimate spawn (otherwise known as Kyle Sampson; isn’t it scary that they look so much alike?) is going to say to throw his former boss under the bus.
Comment by Administrator — March 29, IST @ 06:2920 AM