Given that Bush brought Fielding (a Nixon cronie who served during Watergate) into the White House right after the 2006 elections, it appears like Bush was waiting for this Congressional showdown over subpeonas. First I note how quickly the response came from the White House and how coherent it was, as if everyone (with the interesting exception of Gonzales) seems to be reading off a script. Second, the fact that Fielding put Bush's offer in writing almost immediately. And that document was deep and in-depth, as if it had been waiting around for some time.
Third, and most interestingly to me, how this particular response seems actually mismatched to the circumnstance. On the one hand you have the usual Presedential protective line; the President wasn't directly involved in these decisions. And on the other they are saying; Presedential communications are protected. But if the President wasn't directly involved, then how are his communications at risk? Does Presidential priviledge cover the entire administration? Surely not. In fact the lines of Presidential priveledge are very narrowly drawn around the man himself. So it could be that Bush's surprise trap on this subpeona stuff may end up backfiring on him.
Gonzales actually looks to me like just a worthless pawn at this point in a seperation of powers struggle. He doesn't even seem to be on message. Going around talking about how he wants to protect the kids and what not. What's up with that? Regardless of what happens between Congress and the White House, it's pretty clear that Gonzales is going to be turfed real soon now.
Posted by jherr at March 23, 2007 08:32 AMThanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)