Gonzales' upside-down logic

In a 26-page memo to the Senate Judiciary Committee, released Monday, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said he wants to stay in his job to fix the image of the Justice Department and that he is troubled that politics may have played a role in hiring career federal prosecutors. The memo was released in preparation for Gonzales scheduled appearance before the committee Tuesday.

Its contents show the twists of logic often employed in Washington that leaves news consumers scratching their heads over the doings of newsmakers.

Just so the attorney general doesn’t get too confused when he’s questioned by the committee, I’d like to point out two things for him:

*The broken image he describes at the Justice Department is the result of the policy of politics over justice that has been practiced during his tenure. The one thing that symbolizes the broken image of the Justice Department is Alberto Gonzales himself.

*The problems being investigated by the Judiciary Committee don’t center on people being hired because of their politics; the concern is that federal prosecutors were fired because they didn’t meet the partisan political standard of in charge.

“From my perspective, there are two options available in light of these allegations. I would walk away or I could devote my time, effort and energy to fix the problems,” Gonzales wrote in the memo. Unfortunately, he has picked the wrong option. His staying only makes the situation worse.