Why Are You Still Here?
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is, amazingly, still around. Though mired in scandal after scandal, nothing seems to be able to shake Bush’s loyalty to him. Even so, when a man brings this much bad press to an already embattled administration, it’s surprising that he would still be around.
This article gives us a potential answer. By acting as a “lightning rod”, Gonzales takes the pressure off of other members of the executive branch, including Mr Bush. Our country has entered a period of great dissatisfaction with its government; the growing unpopularity of the War in Iraq has decimated Mr Bush’s already low approval rating. The vice president’s chief of staff was sentenced to jail time (and then pardoned) for his role in exposing the identity of a CIA operative. It’s safe to say that things are not going well.
However, if the press flocks around one member of the cabinet (and sells papers by calling for his resignation), other political news ends up on page seven instead of page one. This, for Mr Bush, may prove to be an excellent strategy.
The question here becomes one of timing. Gonzales cannot possibly expect to maintain his post for long; the administration must balance this “lightning rod” tactic with saving face later down the road. Also, the story will only maintain public interest for so long. When Gonzales stops selling papers, the press is going to stop writing about him. Only time will tell what Mr Bush will end up doing, but for now, his strategy seems to be solid.
Gonzales
July 29th, 2007 at 1:28 pm
Great post and a great article.
Bush is infamous for appointing people who are completely inept. I mean, psychologically speaking, some humans do have a tendency to surround themselves with people they view as “less” than them in some capacity or another. It must be beyond difficult for Bush to find such people… but somehow he manages to do so.
I could list dozens of people from his administration who have been less than qualified for the positions they’ve found themselves in, but I’ll only list one: Michael Brown, former director of FEMA.
I mean, come ON.