Why is George W. Bush still standing behind the Attorney General?

Question

They can have their votes of no confidence, but it's not going to make the determination about who serves in my government," Bush said in Sofia, Bulgaria, the last stop on a weeklong visit to Europe.

"This process has been drug out a long time," Bush added. "It's political."

The attorney general said he didn't plan on leaving anytime soon.

In the Senate, seven Republicans voted with Democrats to advance the no confidence resolution.

Even before the controversy over fired prosecutors, lawmakers of both parties complained that Gonzales allowed Justice to violate civil liberties on a host of other issues — such as implementing Bush's warrantless wiretapping program.

One veteran Republican said Gonzales had used up all his political capital in the Senate.

"There is no confidence in the attorney general..."

What on earth is going thru the President's head?

Jackie D relax. It's just a question.

Answer 1

He's waiting to use the same urinal.

Answer 2

The Attorney General is a member of the Executive branch, not the Legislative branch. Once confirmed, Congress has nothing to say about whether he stays or goes. That is up to the Executive, President George W. Bush.

btw, you do know that President Clinton fired all 93 US Attorneys shortly after he assumed office, correct?

No one said anything, even though it derailed the investigations into Whitewater and a certain lawyer's profits from (not) trading her commodities account.

That's because the 93 US Attorneys are part of the Executive branch and serve at the pleasure of the President. They are NOT covered by the civil service rules and haven't ever been.

Of course, the Democrats do not care whether the Attorneys General are or aren't civil servants under the law. Nor do they care about the 'ancient history' of what happened in 1993. All they care about is painting George W. Bush as the problem in America so that they can (they hope) get elected in 2008 without any serious platform or real solutions.

Real solutions have this nasty tendency to require free markets and a growing economy ... instead of the socialism that seems to come naturally to most Democrats.

They ought to take a look at the platform that Bill Clinton got elected on ... fix the economy and free the people, not tax the economy and obligate the people.

:-)

Answer 3

There is a word that is not fully understood in todays society. That word, I believe, is the main reason for the Presidents determination to hold on to Attorney General Gonzales.
That word is Loyalty. If Gonzales were wrong, the President would have been on his case a long time ago. But if the President believes his man is right; he'll back him all the way.
It doesn't matter who likes him or dislikes him. As long as the President likes him, he stays. He serves the nation because the President asked him to and congress agreed.
If congress wants him out, they can vote him out.
They'll posture and shout but won't do anything of substance.

Answer 4

NOTHING is going through Bush's head!

He is not going to admit that he is wrong; he would rather see the man go down in flames. And you know that if he goes down, and it was due to the president throwing him under the bus, Gonzales will start singing about what he White House knew and what he was told by the White House to do. And right now, that is the LAST thing that GW and Company want to happen.

Answer 5

That's easy. Consider Bush's record for respecting the law. Now, remember that Congress is now under Democratic control, so the GOP can't block investigations.

If you were Bush, given these circumstances, would you rather have an nonest Attorny General --or Gonzalez?

Answer 6

Gonzales is one of his "YES" men, one of the few left. He rubber stamped everything Bush wanted without question and without regard to legality or morals. He will only dispense of him if its effects Bush himself.

Put another way, Gonzales knows "where some of the bodies are buried" so to speak.

Remember the second in command to Gonzales already resigned and with other subordinates. Bush wanted it to end there, and it still might.

In addition, in Bush's mind he is right on everything! Its his way or the highway! You are either for him or his enemy!

I think we have a serious problem here, a President with delusions of gran-dour who doesn't care about any situation but his own.

God help us, I hope we make it another year and a half.

Answer 7

He's still standing behind the AG because he believes Gonzales was and is the best man for the job. Nobody really cares that the prosecutors were fired, it's just the latest political bone in the bowl and the Democrats are going at it with all the gusto they can muster, trying their damdest to make it into something serious. They will always have at least one to chew on even if they have to make it up out of thin air, and there will always be a handful of Republicans who side with them on any given issue.

Answer 8

loyalty trumps competence and upholding the constitution for republicans. for republicans the priority list is like this:

#1 GOP
#2 Money
#3 God
#4 The constitution

Answer 9

George can have whomever he choses as prosecutors so drop it and do some charity work to get out your hostilities and do something good to counteract your hatred and stop going on witchhunts! God help the sheep !

Answer 10

because george w. bush is 'consistent' - remember?

that's what everyone liked so much about him.

people would ask him why he was qualified to be president and he'd say - 'i'm consistent.'

remember america?

remember?

maybe next time when you have the choice between a brainless twit and a reasonably smart person, you'll chose the smart person.

i also just wanted to take this moment and thank everyone who voted for bush for keeping us safe from the evils of gay marriage.

yep!

bush tackled that issue head on.

the economy, terrorism, american security and the war in iraq?

not so much...

Answer 11

What people are forgetting is all US Attorneys serve at the pleasure and discretion of the President. When Clinton assumed office, he fired ALL US Attorneys. Not one word was said. Why? Because it was the President's prerogative. Now, a few attorneys are fired, and the opposition calls 'foul'. It is an example of duplicity and double-standard and the opposition party trying to usurp the power of the presidency.