After making a speech today to the International Association of Privacy Professionals, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales took questions from a number of reporters. Eric Lipton from the New York Times asked him several questions, ending with "And is there any consideration of you actually leaving as Attorney General?" Gonzales responded:
Well, hopefully one day I will leave and go back to Texas. That's my sincere hope. But listen. We are working with the Congress to provide information about what happened here. I've already indicated that there were things that were done in connection with these decisions that could have been and should have been done better. I want to reassure the American people that we in no way have made decisions to politicize these offices.
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Those first two sentences struck me as completely bizarre; why is he merely hopeful (in fact sincerely hopeful), rather than certain, that one day he'll leave his office and go back home? Of course, it's possible that the answer is "those two sentences were just him moving his lips pretending to say something while not actually saying anything." But assuming he really was trying to communicate something, what was it? What could stop him from going home no later than January 2009?
Well, the first possibility is that he could die in office before Bush finishes his term; I can appreciate that he would "sincerely hope" that wouldn't happen. But it's also pretty unlikely; he's 51 and is in good health as far as anybody knows. According to the Social Security Administration, his odds of surviving until January 2009 are approximately 87 to 1. Death in office really doesn't sound like something that would be on his mind enough to make him use mildly emotional language about it in public.
The second possibility is that, heaven forbid, a Republican candidate gets elected President in 2008 and asks him to stay on as AG. But that would be a vote of confidence, something most people would regard as an honor, so it's unclear why he'd be hoping it didn't happen. If he really wanted to go back home then, he could politely decline the offer; I'm sure he has plenty of proteges he'd be more than happy to recommend.
There's only one other possibility I can see, which is that when Bush's term ends, the Bush administration doesn't. Could Gonzales have been issuing a veiled threat or blowing a dog whistle? Is it possible that the GOP isn't terribly bothered by their pathetic lineup of presidential candidates because none of them have to win? If this administration didn't include Gonzo and Dickhead I'd dismiss this alternative as silly wild speculation. But with those two and Rove, I'm afraid I have to see it as serious wild speculation.