As pathological as Dick Cheney comes across in today’s much-discussed Washington Post profile, our notorious Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales, hardly comes across looking good. (Barton Gellman and Jo Becker confirm that the president calls his long-time friend “Fredo.”)
For example, we’ve long believed that Gonzales was responsible for the infamous memo that dismissed the Geneva Conventions as “quaint,” and characterized Colin Powell as a defender of “obsolete” rules. Today’s piece explains that Gonzales didn’t even write his own memo; Cheney general counsel David Addington did.
This graf seems to capture the internal White House dynamic.
Gonzales, a former Texas judge, had the seniority and the relationship with Bush. But Addington — a man of imposing demeanor, intellect and experience — dominated the group. Gonzales “was not a law-of-war expert and didn’t have very developed views,” [John] Yoo recalled, echoing blunter observations by the Texan’s White House colleagues.
So, on top of everything we’ve already learned with regards to Gonzales’ on-the-job performance, we now also learn that our AG was looked down upon by his White House colleagues, and was given a nickname belonging to the feeble, incompetent brother from The Godfather.
It inspires confidence in the nation’s chief law-enforcement officer, doesn’t it? Maybe he’s been in the wrong job all along.
