Gonzales Has To Go

In regard to the now-infamous firing of several U.S. Attorneys, last week I said: Maybe it is a big deal over nothing. On the other hand, maybe it is the tip of the iceberg. The latter now appears to be closer to the truth.

Al Gonzales needs to resign as attorney general because he is a liar. You don't have to understand all the details of this incident to see why. Just consider two of his public statements about the firings.

Last week in USA Today: "While I am grateful for the public service of these seven U.S. attorneys, they simply lost my confidence."

Yesterday at a press conference: "I was not involved in seeing any memos, was not involved in any discussions about what was going on ... That's basically what I knew as attorney general."

Which is it, Mr. Attorney General? Were you involved in the decision or not? Both statements can't be true.

An aide named Kyle Sampson has been sacrificed as a scapegoat for allegedly not keeping Gonzales informed. If that's the case, then the situation is even worse than we thought. Exactly who is running the Justice Department?

Obviously the AG can't be involved in every personnel decision. But U.S. Attorneys are not minor officials. This was a big deal - which is why there was a blizzard of e-mail between Sampson and top staff at the White House discussing exactly who would be fired and how it would be done.

If Gonzales was involved in the firings, he is lying about it and letting other people take the blame. If he wasn't involved, he is a dangerously incompetent administrator in a critical position during a time of war. Either way, he needs to go. The nation is better off if he leaves sooner rather than later.