When the Woodshed Isn't Enough

March 28, 2007
When the Woodshed Isn't Enough

In terms of biography, Gonzales is totally unlike Stockman. His rise from poverty to become the first Hispanic attorney general is a great chapter in the American tradition. He owes his position not to brilliance but to his proven loyalty to Bush, the man he has served as a counselor for more than a decade.

But, like Stockman, he has given his president plenty of reasons to fire him. The Justice Department, a vital part of the federal government, has been reduced in stature and has lost the trust of both the public and its career employees under Gonzales.

Bush has modeled himself on Reagan in many ways. One of the worst traits they share is their reluctance to dismiss people for cause. It took more than three years of the mismanaged Iraq war for Bush to get rid of Don Rumsfeld.

The Republican White House is too often a no-fire zone.