Ouch.
On Fox News Sunday this morning, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-GA) refused to defend Attorney General Alberto Gonzales against accusations that he may have perjured himself before Congress. âItâs very damagingâ¦we badly need an attorney general who is above any question,â said Gingrich.
He continued: “Both the president and country are better served if the attorney general is a figure of competence. Sadly, the current attorney general is not seen as any of those things. I think itâs a liability for the president. More importantly, itâs a liability for the United States of America.”
Later in the show, host Chris Wallace revealed that no conservative would willingly defend Gonzales on Fox. âBy the way, we invited White House officials and Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee to defend Attorney General Gonzales,â said Wallace. âWe had no takers.â
How bad is it? Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the only Republican senator who went easy on Gonzales during the latest humiliating hearing, acknowledged on ABC this morning that “of courseâ Gonzales has a credibility problem.
Remember the good ol’ days (pre-2001) when political norms dictated a resignation under these circumstances? Good times, good times.
