Sheer Political Hypocrisy

What is all the hoopla about over the U.S. attorney firings? People are in an uproar over the Bush administration’s firing of eight federal prosecutors. Justice Department officials stated that the decision to fire the eight prosecutors began in the office of Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, not in the White House. Congressional Democrats have singled out presidential adviser Karl Rove for questioning about the firings and whether the dismissals were politically motivated. Rove called the controversy “a very big attempt by some in the Congress to make a political stink about it.” And this is just what this has become — a political stink!

There is no doubt that Gonzales should have been more forthcoming as to why the attorneys were being terminated. However, the Democrats should not forget that Bill Clinton’s first act as president was to fire every U.S. attorney. Clinton and his attorney general, Janet Reno (remember her? The Waco disaster?), kicked all 93 U.S. attorneys to the curb because he knew with all the alleged criminal baggage he was carrying before his arrival at the White House that an honest Justice Department would be his worst nightmare. Even if the firings were politically motivated, the Bush administration waited six years before firing a U.S. attorney, unlike the Clinton administration, which began sacking U.S. attorneys immediately after taking office and without any consideration of the repercussions. This move was extreme and unprecedented.

Considering the history of past presidents firing U.S. attorneys, this charade is going nowhere real fast. Can we now move on to real issues that Americans really care about

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