The Art of Opposition

The Art of Opposition Will the White House now stop underestimating the Democratic Congress?

If President Bush is looking for an early Christmas present for his top Justice appointees, he could do worse than Sun Tzu's "The Art of War." Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's edition might even be unabridged.

Call the administration's handling of the eight fired U.S. attorneys what you will (and many adjectives come to mind), at bottom this is a story of a White House and Justice Department that have yet to understand how rocked is their world. Their GOP brethren are no longer running Congress, and the Democrats who took over want blood. The administration made its first, costly, mistake by underestimating the opposition.

Democrats can't be accused of the same naivete. They understood on Nov. 8 that their real majority power would rest in investigations and the almighty subpoena. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Chuck Schumer began maneuvering their troops in January -- a hearing here, a press conference there -- patiently waiting for an opportunity to escalate the attorneys affair. They got their opening when Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty made the amateur-hour error of testifying that the dismissals were performance-related.

That phrase turned what should have been a minor skirmish over presidential prerogatives into a bloody battle over allegations of cronyism and coverups. And the real humiliation for the White House is that it never had to be this way.

A White House and Justice Department on their game, scanning the Schumer-Feinstein battlefield ahead, would have sent Mr. McNulty to the Hill with a very different script.

More concerning is the damage to Mr. Gonzales himself. The AG is the front man for most of the White House's more vital, if controversial, anti-terror policies -- from wiretapping to detainees.

The real "incompetence" of this administration is not administrative, it's public relations and political one.

1 posted on 03/16/2007 2:08:01 AM PDT by CutePuppy

Wonder if the 'Rats are going to open an investigation of Slick Willie's firing ALL the U.S. Attorneys as soon as he took office -- to get to the one that was investigating Madison Guaranty (which would have sent Slick to prison)?

2 posted on 03/16/2007 2:23:20 AM PDT by lentulusgracchus ("Whatever." -- sinkspur)

No, but I hope some of the GOP Congresspeople will get spinal implants and keep reminding of this issue during these hearings, so even media couldn't ignore it - and exactly the way you asked it.

3 posted on 03/16/2007 2:37:04 AM PDT by CutePuppy (If you don't ask the right questions you may not get the right answers)

Thanks, good idea. The GOP members ought to just pound the table about it until they get on the news.

4 posted on 03/16/2007 4:24:48 AM PDT by lentulusgracchus ("Whatever." -- sinkspur)

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