Wartime Consigliere

First of all, Gonzales is a dick. Showing up at Ashcroft's hospital bed in 2004 to pressure him to change his mind about the domestic spying program's legality is just a crappy thing to do.

Second, he was a clueless dick. Because Ashcroft was incapacitated, he had made his deputy acting AG. Ashcroft didn't actually have the authority to sign off on anything.

Third, he was a dick for no reason. When Ashcroft wouldn't sign off on the program, the President just went ahead with it anyway. If they didn't think they needed Ashcroft's OK, why bother with the heavy-handed theatrics?

Few people are more skeptical of this administration's motivations than I am, but even so, I was a little stunned as I learned about this sordid episode. Just read the whole thing.

PS: Yes, Card is a dick, too, but something tells me that Gonzales enjoyed it more.