"I doubt that this kind of scandal will happen again in our lifetimes"

Wishful thinking. If the Constitutional separation of powers isn't restored, then it most certainly will happen again.

can't wait to hear what carol lam has to say.

Kabuki.

Jake, did you get your veteran's shipment of Viagra from VA today? What's with the frantic, rapid-fire, palpatating comments?

Are you on the clock?

"Finally," said one. "All the leaves have fallen off the tree and now the tree has fallen," another told him.

If they think felling the tree will do the job they're sadly mistaken. The goddam root is the problem. Bring in the heavy equipment because this sucker runs deep.

Bush should nominate Arlen Specter for Attorney General.

I'm guessing someone has already been picked and that person is responsible for Karl Rove's bye bye. Not that they'll necessarily be trusted or clean, but who would take the job as shackled as it has been?

John Cornyn will be the next AG.

Thoughts?

It will be Townsend; she knows where all the skeletons are and will be worse than Abu because she's got functioning frontal lobes. Sorry, Mr. Iglesias, the scandal will never be over until we pry the cold, dead fingers of Cheney off the levers of power. That the Weimar Democrats can't bring themselves to do that is our national tragedy, and probable doom.

Someone who will not abuse FISA.

Pat Fitzgerald

Has anybody called Carol Lam?

Beyond that, I can't believe you people are still falling for Jake's trolling.

If you didn't know how Iglesias views reality, you know now. To aspire to the bygone days of Reagan's criminal behavior is disgusting. He must be proud that less people died, or that he was fighting imaginary communism. Reagan fed his little rummy and cheney their saddam to fight the bad iranians. poor folks that got in his way in america central didn't matter to these "people" at all. Los Contras. hilarious enemies that Reagan's same boys are doing drug deals with, and pimping for Noriega all the while
Iglesias ignored the lawbreaking by his superiors and could have been a whistleblower. but no. only when he had his hair mussed did he complain.
how much lower must the bar be to find someone that can rise to such high standards as our constitution calls for? Iglesias needs a step ladder. some need an extension ladder. some are out of luck because even a fire truck's huge extension ladder won't go high enough.
why don't we have one choice where the person doesn't need a ladder?

We are going to find out something about dems in a hurry. So far every person nominated by Bush for anything has lied through their teeth in their confirmation hearings. If Bush nominates someone with a conservative record all the senate has to do is refuse to confirm if the person says one word different than what their record says. The senate doesn't even need a hearing actually. Just review the record and go from there. Confirmation hearings have become a contest to see who can tell the biggest whopper.

I've been humming "Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead!" all day today. I'm not holding my breath that this is going to change anything, though.

Cut the head off the rotting fish, not just the anal fin.

Sure, the anal fin might be gone, but you can bet that the new AG will have been dying to fill that hole...

I've never heard of a resignation due to a NAME being dragged through the mud. The innocent ones fight it and provide evidence of their innocence.

No, Bush, Gonzo had to resign because he's guilty.

Now that I think of it, Larry Craig is a shoe-in for the position of AG... (bada-bing!)

Perhaps you folks forget that Francis Townsend ran the office relating to the FISA court under Janet Reno, cited the administration as primary fault for Katrina reaction, and has refocused the administration on actual counterterrorism operations (without hype), and was a career prosecutor before all that. Some of us can't figure out why she is still welcome in their camp, but for undeniable ability.

Hardly a yes-person for this ,or any, administration. Most people who have done the fact-checking will agree. Don't assume that everybody is bad just because some are truly atrocious. Find out the facts first.

Well, that leaves Cheney as the last semi-competent operator in the White House machine. Everyone else is under so much scrutiny and too busy finding their sea legs to commit any further serious crimes until the end of this sad administration.
I share the hope with Iglesias that lessons are learned and we don't see this happen again, but the same vague sense of dread lingers as after Watergate: will the public remain outraged or will this so jade everyone that future and seemingly lesser transgressions of the law are tolerated. Worse, like Cheney and Rove after Watergate, will devious minds of the future powers-to-be contemplate these events with an eye to getting away with it next time -- to greater effect and a lengthier run?

It should signal the end of active criminality on the part of this administration at least.

Kudos to the TPM crew for keeping this story alive long enough to bypass the vast indifference of the MSM -- no car crashes, helicopter or crotch shots -- and arrive at this day.

Frances Fragos Townsend? I've worked for her. She's brilliant at managing up. Seems to have a sixth sense for what her bosses want to hear, and delivers it firmly & quickly, as if it's her independent, considered evaluation. Bush would find her totally satisfactory. Her after-action report recommendation on Katrina was, after much study, that the President should have been more closely involved: somewhat subtle but effective brown-nosing.

Managing down is quite another story. This alone disqualifies her as AG, in charge of 28,000 or so employees. If past is prologue, high-level career people left at Justice might decide to retire now, after all. How Justice is still functioning at all is a mystery. It doesn't need more defections of the competent and experienced.

She has little federal prosecutorial experience, just a bit of the Pizza Connection Case as far as I know. This is disturbing. An AG who knows little federal criminal law is a real liability when so many career lawyers have left. Who would there be to raise and brief her knowledgeably on a multitude of federal criminal law issues?

In fact, she is apparently rather short on non-federal prosecutorial experience, as well. She got out of the courtroom and -- though still describing herself as a "career prosecutor" -- onto the ladders of power ASAP. (She was very close to AG Janet Reno in the Clinton Administration. The moment she got a Bush appointment she started calling herself a "lifelong Republican.")

She was often in error but never, ever in doubt. Our office understood that she wanted to go on the federal bench. I know no one who regarded her temperament as judicial.

Not Chertoff either, please! (Is it true that he drafted great chunks of the original Patriot Act, whose more than 300 pages just happened to be sitting there ready to go on 9/11? ) Justice has had already had its Katrina Quotient.

"Bush should nominate Arlen Specter for Attorney General.

Posted by: PAvoter Date: August 27, 2007 3:55 PM "

1) Too presidential and shrewd for this White House, and 2) Specter might not take it under these circumstances. So I say, BRING BACK RUMSFELD!

I have a great deal of admiration for James Comey because (1) he stood up to Gonzales and Card; (2) he refused to sign off on the WH's intelligence "activities" which he believed to be unconstitutional; (3) he threatened to resign rather be used. However, he will never be nominated by Dumbya because (a) he is honest; (b) he has integrity; and (3) he is almost 7 feet tall and GWB is just a wunky lil ol' pipsqueak! Imagine how that would look in a photo op. Georgie would have to stand on a box.

And people, you're still playing footsies with Jake. He's a TROLL, fgs. Ignore his sorry ass. Maybe he'll go bother the people on HuffPost, or Am. Free Press, or something. He's an idiot. Let it go.

I think Chimpy McFlightsuit should stamp his wittle foot on the deck of the Mission Accomplished aircraft carrier and install Harriet Myers in a recess appointment.

That'll prove that he's King George, the Decider, and is sooooooo mad at those wascally Democwats who took away all his yes men and keep threatening to say that bad "n-word." (No)

He should relax, though. In order to counter the Republicans who were born without a conscience, God made sure the Democrats were born without a spine.

Consequently, it will be business as usual until the day this dipshit leaves office, if he ever does. Then then next dipshit will come in and it will be business as usual, etc. Rinse and repeat.

Non-violent Apathists Unite! Or whatever. I need a nap.

Jess:

Care to make a wager on whether Hillary Clinton is the nominee?

djcrow22:

I am not Karl Rove's son -- in fact, I am old enough to be his father -- as for "using a different handle on other lib sites" why would I want to lie about my name? I do agree that the Defeatocrats will probably cave AGAIN.