Gonzales Is Said to Seem Confident He Will Stay

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT: Gonzales Is Said to Seem Confident He Will Stay
By DAVID JOHNSTON and SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
Published: May 10, 2007

WASHINGTON, May 9 — Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales appears increasingly confident that he will survive the crisis over the dismissal of federal prosecutors, as White House aides who view him as a liability see little point in trying to persuade President Bush to push him out, administration officials and Republican allies said.

Though Mr. Gonzales is considered in Congress and in legal circles as an isolated and diminished figure, he has told aides he believes he has weathered the storm. He is expected to testify on Thursday before the House Judiciary Committee about his department’s dismissals last year of several United States attorneys.

Republicans close to the White House say that top aides to the president — including Karl Rove, the chief political strategist, and Fred F. Fielding, the White House counsel — have privately expressed misgivings about Mr. Gonzales but now appear to have lined up behind Mr. Bush....

On Capitol Hill, where Mr. Gonzales’s support in both parties was seriously eroded with his appearance last month before the Senate Judiciary Committee, there appears to be little change in sentiment, but not enough opposition to force him from office....

***

A Republican strategist familiar with Mr. Rove’s thinking said that Mr. Rove, the president’s chief political adviser, “believes it’s in the best interest of the president for Gonzales on his own to resign.” But, this person said, Mr. Rove and other like-minded aides have concluded that “there’s nothing they can do — it’s about the relationship between Gonzales and the president.”...

***

...there are reasons White House aides are content to see Mr. Gonzales stay put. First, they say they believe that if Mr. Gonzales were to step down under pressure, it would empower Congressional Democrats to set their sights on others, including Mr. Rove, who has acknowledged complaining to Mr. Gonzales and the president about several prosecutors.

And removing Mr. Gonzales would pose another set of complications: finding a candidate who could be confirmed by the Senate and risking replacement of a loyalist with someone who might be more independent....

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/10/washington/10gonzales.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

[AllegroRondo]

1. He has to stay

Bushco would never survive confirmation hearings on the replacement.

[Duer 157099]

2. He might as well just hold up his middle finger to the camera and the

committee members. That's exactly what he's doing anyway, minus the gesture.

It's such a disgusting display.

[BuyingThyme]

3. Leahy gave him a green light. He's not going anywhere.

Not unless we can first get rid of Leahy.

[Demeter]

4. Given Gonzo's Accuracy Percentage, I Wouldn't Worry About It

It's unlikely he'd be right about this self-deception, given how wrong he's been all along.