One of the frustrating parts of the US Attorney firing scandal is the ability of the Bushies to simultaneously argue:
- US Attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President.
- There is some confusion over who ordered the USAs fired.
If Attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President, then any firings were done by the President. US Attorneys don't serve at the pleasure of the White House Political Director (Karl Rove) nor the Attorney General (Alberto Gonzales). (Unless the Republicans want to make such an argument...)
Bush is responsible for the exercise of Presidential power and doesn't get to say he doesn't know who exercised his power.
This is a simple matter, but many of our brightest lights seem not to "get it." It was George Bush who fired the US Attorneys under very suspect circumstances.
If Bush delegated such Presidential Authority to others, then that should be its own separate issue.