Gonzales

Across America hearts are singing about the nomination for Attorney General. I'm so gratified to know that the nation's chief law enforcement officer may be the fellow best remembered for this:

Gonzales concluded in stark terms: "In my judgment, this new paradigm renders obsolete Geneva's strict limitations on questioning of enemy prisoners and renders quaint some of its provisions."

Good to know that the man in charge of the state enforcement apparatus has such a flexible approach to laws, and is willing to, without notice or public comment, cast aside both American law and decades-old international treaty obligations because they are "quaint." The icing on the cake is that, had this memo not been leaked, it would still be behind a White House secrecy curtain. The Bush administration has stopped publicly posting opinions from the Office of Legal Counsel, something Clinton routinely did in the past. How many more Abu Gharibs can we look forward to?

I think the Democrats should fight against this guy, and offer New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer as an example of the kind of experience and talent our nation needs. He makes a stark contrast to this old Bush crony who seems resolutely unqualified. Imagine, a man who has actual experience supervising government lawyers through successful, complicated, multi-facted prosecutions! Do you think we could maybe use those skills in combatting terrorists? Could we maybe have a good prosecutor, instead of a man willing to flush the Geneva Convention because it might be inconvenient, without even trying to amend it, or formally abrogate it?

God save us from Alberto Gonzales playing fast-and-loose with the powers of the Patriot Act. I guess Bush's bipartisanship went about as far as we expected.