(Bush)Support of Gonzales affirms power play

[maddezmom]

By Peter S. Canellos, Globe Columnist | April 24, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is trying to do something few have done: Outlive a Washington scandal. And he's trying to do it with little or no support from Republicans in Congress.

The White House, however, is backing him. President Bush has an admirable sense of loyalty to his top aides. But the administration's willingness to withstand its own party's disdain for Gonzales probably springs not from loyalty but from self-interest: The last thing the president needs right now is confirmation hearings for a new attorney general.

It's well known that the administration is seeking to maximize its own powers. This effort takes many forms, from asserting the right to bypass laws that Bush himself has signed, to asserting the authority to hold prisoners without trials, to forbidding Congress from seeing information the administration deems sensitive to national security, to asserting its own, highly debatable interpretations of the Geneva Conventions.

There may well be other, similar claims of power that the public does not know about, leading to secret actions that the president believes are justified through his authority as commander in chief.

Many such assertions of power have originated in the White House. Some have been traced to David Addington, Vice President Dick Cheney's former counsel and current chief of staff. But the key determinations of what the administration can and cannot do are made by the Justice Department, whose Office of Legal Counsel passes judgment on questions of presidential power.

more:http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/04/24/support_of_gonzales_affirms_power_play/

[pat_k]

1. He's just too thick to get the message: "Resign already so we can put Ted Olson in."

They want their ol' buddy Ted in there to keep impeachment at bay by any means necessary. Since he stole the Office of the President for them, they figure he can do anything.

[bemildred]

2. Yep, "Never give an inch".

This is to the death, all jets on full all the way into the ground. Too much is at stake, the entire "conservative" world view, political power, American exceptionalism, war crimes trials, and giant egos are all in play. And WOOPEE! we all get to go along for the ride.