Gonzales Resignation Needed, True to Bush Form

As news breaks that embattled AG Alberto Gonzales has resigned, we make two observations.

One is that we still agree with the judgment of many Bush loyalists that Gonzales needed to resign, not because of what his opponents call his unconstitutional approach to surveillance or political approach to appointments but because he has so mishandled the politics of his office.

The second is that his resignation is consistent with the pattern seen in earlier big resignations, notably Donald Rumsfeld's. When an appointee becomes the target of criticism from the opposition, Bush will dig in. When the public pressure lessens with the passing of time, then his embattled appointee resigns.

Bush is alternately loyal to his supporters, a quality SWNID admires, and hostile to his opponents, a quality that probably contributes to his success as a politician (and he is successful, as only 43 people have managed to get themselves elected POTUS). He neither wants to kick his political friends when they're down nor concede even a small bit of ground to his political enemies. But he does know an albatross when he sees one.