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OPINION & EDITORIAL

Gonzales’ conduct merits resignation

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Also by Robert Phansalkar:

'Think, Respect' does neither, preempts rational action (November 14, 2007)
'Taser this' editorial tame compared to past (October 2, 2007)
Lawmakers' plan bigger problem than baggy pants (September 18, 2007)
Right-wing judicial activism fault of liberal tactics (August 31, 2007)

by Robert Phansalkar

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

When I was in second grade, I forgot my math flashcards at home and Miss Powers gave me a lesson I never forgot. She taught me that no matter how true it was, forgetting was never an acceptable excuse.

The lesson stuck with me, and soon I realized that the reason why it wasn't acceptable was because it meant that whatever was forgotten wasn't a priority.

However, unfortunately for us, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales never took second-grade math with Miss Powers, and we're all the worse off because of it.

Mr. Gonzales has been the subject of much media scrutiny, as he has been implicated in the recent firing of eight U.S. attorneys for what appears to be political reasons. As Mr. Gonzales had been particularly silent on the issue, the U.S. Congress, in order to ascertain the truth, subpoenaed the attorney general before the body to discuss his involvement in the scandal.

During the hearing, Mr. Gonzales was heard multiple times — with a very strong emphasis on "multiple" — explaining how he simply "[does] not recall" meetings that happened just months ago. Rarely would you hear this during any testimony, and you'd certainly hope that the one who was forgetting wasn't the one in charge of the Department of Justice.

Now, Mr. Gonzales has proven throughout his tenure that responsibility and ethics are not the highest of his priorities. Whether he was questioning the expressed writ of habeas corpus in our Constitution or pushing for unconstitutional methods of law enforcement, Mr. Gonzales has proven himself averse to the very system of justice he has sworn to protect.

However, political reasons to oppose Mr. Gonzales aside, in light of what transpired before the committee, he has also given us another reason to oppose him: his incompetence.

Even if we accept that Mr. Gonzales is actually as forgetful as he would like us to believe, how can we, as a democracy, accept his explanations as reasonable for something as politically and legally charged as this situation? The truth is: We can't.

Although the overwhelming likelihood of this is that Mr. Gonzales has willfully fostered a poor recollection of what happened, and if he has actually forgotten major details of a meeting from a few short months ago, our faith in Mr. Gonzales's ability to lead our Department of Justice has to be put into question.

Someone who forgets a major occurrence during a meeting he attended does not deserve to be in charge of one of the most important parts of our government. If it was unacceptable for me to forget flashcards in a second-grade class, it has to be unacceptable for someone to forget something as important as a high-government meeting.

In the likely event that he has chosen to forget details, Mr. Gonzales has to fess up to what transpired and treat Americans with the kind of candor and respect that this administration has proven to be pathologically incapable of doing.

Without this dose of honesty about what actually transpired in those particular meetings, the system that Mr. Gonzales and his cohorts in the White House serve to protect becomes meaningless.

Law is above politics and prejudices, and if the person who is charge of the institution most intimately involved with law does not respect it, our Constitution and legal system have become irrelevant.

Many others have abused politics and law before, but the point is not so much that this administration uniquely abuses it, but still that they are doing it at all. That in itself is unacceptable, and the American people understand and realize this.

For Mr. Gonzales, to answer this problem is rather simple: Either fess up to what happened with the honesty and ethic that the office you serve stands for or resign because of your inability to remember or protect the law you have sworn to protect.

Otherwise, the meaning of the words on the Department of Justice emblem — "Qui Pro Domina Justitia Sequitur" — will be forgotten along with everything else from that one November meeting that Mr. Gonzales just can't seem to recall.

Robert Phansalkar (rphansalkar@badgerherald.com) is a senior majoring in languages and cultures of Asia and political science.

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Anonymous (April 24, 2007 @ 7:11am):

Gonzales + Tequilla = I don't recall

Anonymous (April 24, 2007 @ 10:13am):

Wow 7:11am, poltical and racist. Neat.

You should be on AM radio.

Anonymous (April 24, 2007 @ 10:26am):

So you can tell me you remember what you were doing on an exact day last November? That was 5 months ago. Dont you think he has a ton of meetings from that point on? And who cares, so he fired some attorneys. Its not illegal. If it was for political reasons then big deal. Thats the benefit of being elected, you have the right to put those you want in postions you want. Democrats are just mad because they got rid of some prosecutors who were clearly democrats. Clinton fired a ton of attorneys too. wheres the outrage from that?

Anonymous (April 24, 2007 @ 11:34am):

let's do everything we can to avoid talking about real issues!

sandy berger anyone?

anyone?
anyONE?!
btw, you know who invented the, 'i don't recall' gig?
yea, billary and hillbill.

also,
have you guys seen the murder/torture of the college couple that occured in nashville in january?
yea, i didn't think so. try finding it.
absolutely brutal.
oh well. nice article today.
blah.

Anonymous (April 24, 2007 @ 11:59am):

So you can tell me you remember what you were doing on an exact day last November?

Yes, in fact, I'll go check my emails. Oh wait, I erased them all because I was up to no good. Maybe I'll ask my secretary. Oops, I had her sent to Guantanamo because she knew too much. Yeah, Clinton did it, so it must be OK.

Best regards,
Alberto Gonzales, BFF XOXOXO

Anonymous (April 24, 2007 @ 12:19pm):

My thoughts exactly, just because this is a liberal town and clearly, a very liberal run student newspaper, whenever a conservative us official of any kind, whether he be the president or the attorney general does anything that a liberal could possibly cry about, the liberals cry. But when one of their own does something the same way or worse, it's okay and everyone in this town sticks up for him. You people are kidding yourself if you can tell the difference between the attornies working now versus the attornies who were fired. Please, spare me your lies.

Anonymous (April 24, 2007 @ 12:35pm):

"does anything that a liberal could possibly cry about, the liberals cry"

Newt Fuckin Gingrich shut down the government to investigate a blow job. Give me a break.

Anonymous (April 24, 2007 @ 1:40pm):

I just cut up those attorneys and shoved them in my pants and socks. i know that makes it ok...who cares if they were so classified that they had hand written scribbles on them because they couldn't even be stored on a computer for fear of hacking.
they're in my pants, now go back to sleep.

much love,
sandy berger.

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