Failed Vote Is Still a Vote of No Confidence

For all the bluster and humbug coming out of the Repub camp this morning, the failed vote of no confidence in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is no victory for the Bush administration. As one of the measure's sponsors, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), said, “When a majority of the Senate votes no confidence in a cabinet officer, it says a lot...he ought to have the decency himself to resign. Clearly, he is not up to the job.” The Democrats mustered 53 of the 60 votes it needed to symbolically censure Gonazles. Those numbers are a forecast of the Bush administration’s dwindling political clout for the rest of its term in office. It won’t be long before Congress will override presidential vetoes. Yesterday, the Prez also said the immigration bill would be revamped, "I believe we can get it done...I'll see you at the bill signing." In a man of integrity and honor, those words would sound hopeful and encouraging. Coming from George W. Bush they are simply harebrained and delusional. Once again the White House has maneuvered its way into a corner with no way out. Just as there is no way for the Bush administration to back down from its failed policies in Iraq, it cannot back down from its failed position on immigration. And now, the Bush administration must continue to support the inept and corrupt Attorney General through an investigation that is getting closer and closer to the president. As usual, Gonzales made a stunningly cockeyed statement about the vote of no confidence. “I am not focusing on what the Senate is doing...I am going to be focusing on what the American people expect of the attorney general of the United States and this great Department of Justice.” Given the situation in the Department of Justice, the American people expect the attorney general to resign.