Art of political theater, D.C. style

Inter Lake editorial

Say what you like about Alberto Gonzales, but one thing you can't say about him is that he is a slick lawyer.

The attorney general, who has been rotisseried by the national media and the Democratic Congress for the past several weeks, did not help himself one bit during his Senate testimony last week.

Answering questions from Chuck Schumer and Patrick Leahy, the attorney general stumbled and fumbled as he provided his explanation for what went wrong in the firing of eight U.S. attorneys. Despite being pointedly warned by Sen. Schumer not to have memory lapses, Gonzales had to scratch his head 71 times and report straight-faced that he could not recall that particular meeting, memo or detail.

It provided compelling political theater, and increased to a roar the calls for Gonzales to step down as the nation's highest law-enforcement officer. Even many Republicans such as Sen. Arlen Specter joined the fray.

But let's step back and consider exactly what is at stake before we apply boot to derrierre and send Mr. Gonzales on his way.

First of all, the controversy over the firings of the federal prosecutors is a tempest in a teapot, and a very small teapot indeed. There has never been any doubt about the ability or right of the president or his attorney general to hire and fire staff members at will. President Clinton fired 93 U.S. attorneys at once and didn't raise any hackles at all. If Gonzales had been a smooth-talking lawyer like some of his foes in the Senate, he could have probably resolved the matter months ago with a firm and unflappable statement that it was none of their business.

But opponents of the attorney general saw Gonzales start to squirm and seized their opportunity. They floated the suggestion that the firings were undertaken for political purposes, perhaps to hinder prosecutions or to protect cronies. Nothing of the kind has ever remotely been proven, but the national media knows a good horse to flog when they see one, so what should have been a one-day news story turned into a three-month cable "news" fest.

In retrospect, it does seem obvious that the stoning of Gonzales on Capitol Hill has been done entirely for political purposes. The Democrats circled him with snarling efficiency, confident that they could bring him down and thus do damage to an already weakened President Bush.

They certainly got their wish. Considerable damage has indeed been done, and some people no doubt hope it is just the beginning. If Gonzales were to resign, for instance, it would open up the prospect of a months-long mudfight over the next attorney general, with the Democrats trying to score as many points as possible by attempting to make the president or his appointee look bad.

Not exactly a smart way to build up confidence in our legal system, or our government, but no one said that is what the senators have in mind.

In any case, it appears that Gonzales and Bush are no longer playing along as willing targets. Despite their rather lackadaisical defense against the Democratic charges up till now, they are finally saying that enough is enough.

Gonzales told the senators that he has more he wants to accomplish as attorney general, and the president said Monday he retains full confidence in his longtime friend and colleague to get the job done. That may be laughable to the Democrats, and even to many Republicans, but it also should settle the matter.

Congress does not control appointments to the Cabinet any more than it can dictate war strategy to the commander in chief. Playing politics with people's lives and reputations is nothing new in Washington, but at some point it has to stop.

The eight people who were fired are getting on with their lives, and now it is time for the senators to get on with their business.