Two things missing from President Bush’s statement on Alberto Gonzales: an announcement of his replacement and an explanation of what specifically drove him to resign now. Instead, there was a terse but firm defense of Gonzales’s performance — did you know he was “effective” at combating gang violence? — and an insistence that Gonzales was hounded from office by “months of unfair treatment”:
“It’s sad that we live in a time that a talented and honorable person like Alberto Gonzales is impeding [sic] from doing important work because his good name was dragged through the mud for political purpose.”
Fredo! You broke my heart!
Here’s the video:
Meanwhile, CNN’s Suzanne Malveaux, who’s been reporting all morning that senior administration officials tell her Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff will be Gonzales’ replacement, now says White House sources are “waving us off.” No announcement came from Bush about who he’ll tap as the next attorney general.
