Newt calls for Gonzales' head

Sorry to do two Newt stories in 24 hours, but sometimes blogging's about reacting to the news that's out there, and he's in the news again:

Joining a growing list of Republicans, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Sunday that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should consider resigning. The possible presidential candidate said the botched firing of U.S. attorneys has destroyed Gonzales' credibility as the nation's top law enforcer.

"I think the country, in fact, would be much better served to have a new team at the Justice Department, across the board," Gingrich said. "I cannot imagine how he is going to be effective for the rest of this administration. ... They're going to be involved in endless hearings."

...

"This is the most mishandled, artificial, self-created mess that I can remember in the years I've been active in public life," Gingrich said. "The buck has to stop somewhere, and I'm assuming it's the attorney general and his immediate team."

I think it's safe to say that Pat, Tully and myself all take the view that this "scandal" is far more spin than substance (see numerous posts collected here and subsequently this post), but nevertheless, as a pure matter of realism, I think it's probably correct to say that this scandal is going to be squeezed for every drop of political utility the dems in Congress can get out of it (as I noted here, "the political valence of this 'scandal' comes not from its facts, but the way it fits perfectly into the conventional narrative of the Bush administration"), and will pose a distraction from the actual business of governing a country the longer they are able to use it as a weapon. There are two primary reasons why Bush might not axe Gonzales - personal loyalty, and the fear that giving the dems a scalp may encourage them to seek more - but the question has to be asked whether either can possibly counterbalance the obvious reasons why Gonzales has to go.

Sorry to say, I think that (a) it's too late for damage control on this story, because the administration has botched it from the word go, and (b) that being the case, it's time to man the lifeboats. Or perhaps an even more tenuous analog: I keep thinking of that scene in Apollo 13. Disaster has happened, options are narrowing, "the odds are against us and the situation is grim," and in a final desparate move, Houston orders Lovell to close the reactance valves. Lovell knows exactly what that means: doing so forecloses any chance to land on the moon. I think this administration has - and needs to realize, urgently - that it's lost the moon and should focus on what may still be in its power: limp back to Earth with as many of the crew alive - and unindicted - as possible, while still preserving NASA's prestige.

It's time to face the inevitable, Al.

Post facto:
Developing an idea (4/21/07)