Countdown for Gonzales

Last week, I wondered aloud how long Alberto Gonzales could hold out as attorney general. As more and more officials, both Democratic and Republican, called for his ouster, I figured that his days were numbered, but I didn't expect him to be gone immediately. I'm now wondering if his end is almost within view.

The news broke last night and was in the papers this morning that, contrary to what we'd been led to believe, Alberto had actually been in on the decision to fire the eight U.S. attorneys. He met with his former (although former yet) chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, and four others met to review the plan to let the attorneys go.

But not to worry. The Prez is still behind his pal Al. Maybe. At least, that's what's being reported. In his radio address today, he said he supported the attorney general in getting rid of the federal prosecutors, but there was no statement regarding how he felt about Gonzales now. He's not backing down on support for the decision, but that's a far cry from getting Alberto's back on how he's been handling the problem lately. Perhaps he was hinting in that direction this morning when he also said, "I regret that [the U.S. attorney's] resignations have turned into a public spectacle." I bet he does.

Putting more pressure on the attorney general is the fact that Sampson will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. Sampson already took a bullet by resigning last week, and it remains to be seen if he'll be the good soldier Scooter Libby has been so far. But Gonzales doesn't seem to be too worried. As The Washington Post reports, "Aides say Gonzales will continue to focus on other issues in the coming week." See? He's not even paying attention. That's how important this whole issue is to him. Fired U.S. attorneys? What fired U.S. attorneys?