A scary part to all of this is, I can see a benefit to the Bush administration if Gonzales stays. And because of that, I believe the chances are pretty good that he won't actually resign.
The decision itself (short of impeachment) lies in the hands of the POTUS and the AG himself. If neither of them do anything, then he stays. That simple.
Anyone can see how much Gonzales' continued retention will damage the DoJ. But if you think that irreparable damage to a core institution of American democracy matters in the slightest to this President, then you haven't been paying attention. Whether or not the AG stays will depend on whether or not it benefits GW Bush, not on how much damage is done to the USA. It is on that measure that you have to look at what's coming.
On the surface, and as generally reported by the MSM, Gonzales came across as utterly incompetent Thursday. I don't believe that myself, and I'm sure that many of you reading also don't believe that all those "I don't recall"s are actually slips of memories; he's still covering up transgressions we don't know the full extent of yet. After all it's better to appear bumbling than criminal.
But what if it's even worse than that? In Slate yesterday Dahlia Lithwick published a quietly frightening article Gonzo for Gonzo in which the case is made as to why Gonzales's retention (as an obvious incompetent) ultimately benefits the administration's goal of the unitary executive. Because when all is said and done, this game will allow the Bush administration to paint Congress as unimportant white noise. By doing nothing. "I've humored your politicking enough, but the 'decider' has decided."
And that feeds into his push toward becoming King George. I know that sounds ridiculous, but many of his actions, when you view things through a warped enough lens of reality make a weird kind of sense. In any case, if next week or next month the AG is still on the job, we're going to be wracking our brains trying to figure out the logic to it.
The President watched the same "baby seal clubbing" that we watched yesterday. And yet, against all conceivable logic he seems pleased with Gonzales performance. But what if that's actually the truth?