Gonzales leaves with "final whopper," and DOJ's plaque suspended from the ceiling with masking tape

[DeepModem Mom]

WP: Gonzales Dug His Own Grave, and Many Are Happy to Dance on It
By Dana Milbank
Tuesday, August 28, 2007; Page A02


Photographers transmit their images of the attorney general's news conference. (By Nikki Kahn -- The Washington Post)

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigned his post in a familiar way -- with one final whopper.

A White House spokesman said yesterday that President Bush accepted the beleaguered attorney general's resignation on Friday afternoon. But when New York Times reporters called on Saturday to ask about word of Gonzales's departure, the attorney general directed his spokesman to deny the rumors.

For a man accused of lying to Congress, it was a fitting way to go out.

Equally emblematic was the way in which Gonzales announced his departure yesterday morning. From "good morning" to "God bless America," he spoke for all of one minute and 41 seconds -- during which he managed to consult his written statement 26 times and to avoid saying a single word about the roiling scandals that finally forced him to quit. He entered the Justice Department conference room with a grin and departed without taking any of the questions shouted at his back:

"Why are you leaving?"

"Why now?"

"Why did you deny the resignation?"

Neither were the questions answered by Gonzales's resignation letter, which the White House released later -- complete with a grammatical error in the second sentence....

***

Gonzales's Justice Department...has seen better days, if the backdrop behind the attorney general was any indication. It hung like a dangling metaphor: The Department of Justice plaque, suspended from the ceiling with the help of blue masking tape.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/27/AR2007082701316.html?nav=hcmodule

[Kagemusha]

1. If Milbank never does anything else for life, at least I got a good laugh today

That headline is just hilarious.