Live, On Stage, AG Gonzales!

US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, after rehearsing his lines on a grueling practice schedule over the past week, took his show to the Senate Thursday. Let’s just say that he received a critical reception. His comment that he practiced for every hearing immediately brought him questions in return concerning his responses to earlier questions, where his answers were at variance with the stance he is taking now.

The late Molly Ivins had a wonderful description of another aspect of Gonzales’s performance, originating in her description of Congressional hearings into the Iran/Contra affair: Republican Forgetful Syndrome. Jon Stewart said that a count of ‘I don’t recall’s from Gonzales was over forty — before lunch.

Many have already noted the essential disconnect between Gonzales’s testimony that he was completely out to lunch so far as paying attention to meetings he attended and his absolute confidence in saying that he was sure that nothing improper happened. You can’t simultaneously claim ignorance to evade responsibility for a poor decision while offering a firm opinion concerning the conduct of Justice Department adminstrative people in the same breath. The Senate committee, thankfully, also found Gonzales’s performance in this regard unbelievable.

This is just pitiful. I recommend a very short run for this show.