Gonzales tamping down expectations?
By on Apr 9th, 2007 at 11:16 am
Gonzales tamping down expectations?
A suspicious leak of information to Newsweek:
“Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has virtually wiped his public schedule clean to bone up for his long-awaited April 17 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee… But even his own closest advisers are nervous about whether he is up to the task. At a recent ‘prep’ for a prospective Sunday talk-show interview, Gonzales’s performance was so poor that top aides scrapped any live appearances. … Gonzales kept contradicting himself and ‘getting his timeline confused,’ said one participant… His advisers finally got ‘exasperated”‘ with him, the source added. ‘He’s not ready,’ Tasia Scolinos, Gonzales’s public-affairs chief, told the A.G.’s top aides after the session was over, said the source.”
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I guess you have to rehearse so much : there are many lies.
April 9th, 2007 at 11:20 amIt should make for great television!!!
April 9th, 2007 at 11:20 amAnswering questions can be so difficult when your answers are all lies.
April 9th, 2007 at 11:20 amThe soft bigotry of low expectations?
April 9th, 2007 at 11:23 amHis aides are just figuring out what the rest of us already knew, that he’s not up to the job.
April 9th, 2007 at 11:24 amJeffy Lube Gannon has offered to help Alberta BONE UP. LOL!!
April 9th, 2007 at 11:26 amSomeone should bring Gonzo up before the Bar.
Dude shouldn’t have a license to practice law.
April 9th, 2007 at 11:28 amHey Abu G, if you tell the truth you don’t have to remember what you said
April 9th, 2007 at 11:29 amSeriouly is there even one person serving the American public with a clean enough conscience that they can answer questions put forth to them without having to “rehearse” it? Anyone? Answer the question! If you have to think about the answer first, you are probably lying. Period. Let alone “rehearsing” them. And this is the message sent out to our public, children, etc. It is the age of excuse, cover your ass, believe the lie and it is so. I am so sick of this culture. I see it more and more in our society and it makes me sick.
April 9th, 2007 at 11:29 amIncompetence, Arrogance and Corruption: The legacy of george bush.
April 9th, 2007 at 11:31 amThe truth is always the easiest thing to remember. Maybe the problem is that he never told it.
I feel bad for the guy, having to go out without a script can be really hard work.
my advice to AG AG, quit now & avoid the rush.
April 9th, 2007 at 11:33 amI am so sick of this culture. I see it more and more in our society and it makes me sick.
Comment by Bluedahlia
Isn’t it disgusting? I guess we shouldn’t be surprised when teens and college students say — with a straight face — that it’s ok to cheat to get ahead.
It’s the Corruption Tinkle Down Effect.
April 9th, 2007 at 11:34 amI bet Gonzo has wiped his schedule clean after April 17, too. There’s no reason to keep his appointments waiting for him — he’s never coming back to the office!
April 9th, 2007 at 11:38 amZooey,
It’s the Corruption Tinkle Down Effect.
Ain’t that the truth.
I’ve seen some that use excuses like, “I was on spring break in
April 9th, 2007 at 11:42 amFlorida, and didn’t get the assignment done. I think I will ask the prof. for an extension.”
You know that someone is allowing this behavior to be “okay”, or they would be embarassed to even think such a thing.
Gonzo’s not ready for his propaganda piece any more than he was ever ready to be Attorney General! He’s incapable, unqualified, and a fraud to boot. I hope he’s asked about his endorsement of soon-to-be convicted boogey-man, Bernie Kerik – whom he vetted for hours and knew about his connections with Ray et al and STILL supported his nomination to Homeland Security Chief. Is Gonzo bonzo?? It’s beginning to appear so. Either that or he’s as on-the-take as Kerik himself.
Also, of note, it appears that Giuliani’s firm prepared Kerik’s bogus application and Giuliani and Kerik were “partners” so where does Rudy get off at with his “I didn’t know about Bernie” rap?? Clearly, like McCain, now Giuliani is a proven liar as well.
With these frauds self-destructing before our very eyes, what’s left of the GOP?? Mitt Romney was caught in lies…McCain is a known liar….and now Giuliani lies about his underworld connections…pathetic group of thugs!
The only ones running in 08 right now with “clean hands” appear to be Obama and Kucinich. When Kucinich opens the 911 investigation, the termites will begin swarming and what will be made public may be so outrageous that all the rats will jump the sinking, stinking ship.
Maybe Obama/Kucinich in 08?? Could be the only honest men in the campaign by then.
April 9th, 2007 at 11:44 amIf coward Gonzo’s smart, he’ll resign before April 17! He’s going to be made a fool of once again and this time it may net him some jail time as well.
April 9th, 2007 at 11:44 am“tamping down expectations”?? He was tamped down already at slim to none – how much lower can one go than to be considered a total zero to begin with?? Just asking…
April 9th, 2007 at 11:46 amAnd make sure it’s UNDER OATH!
Funny how the press and the right-wing posters give Bush and Cheney a pass on the fact that they REFUSED TO TESTIFY UNDER OATH
to the 9/11 Commission, about their involvement in 9/11, the Bin Ladens, and the Saudi TERRORIST FINANCIERS.
UNDER OATH for ALL these criminals from now on!!!
April 9th, 2007 at 11:47 amBTW, who is the real “Fool on the Hill”. I think it’s a dead heat between the Chimp and the Gonzo.
April 9th, 2007 at 11:47 amRe: the corruption tinkle down effect
April 9th, 2007 at 11:51 amI encounter teens and 20 to 30 somethings who feel it is perfectly acceptable to lie to get ahead, undermine others, and avoid accountability for their actions.
When called on it, their most common response is “Well, everybody else does it.”
My favorite counter response is: “So, just because the president lies about everything, that means you can too?”
Most don’t have a rejoinder to that one, other than to look down at the ground……….
Seriously….can any one of us just do NO WORK FOR 2 WEEKS STRAIGHT expect practicing and rehearsing lies and still keep their job????
This is just a sick joke. Get this bastard out of his position.
April 9th, 2007 at 11:51 am“If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.”
-Mark Twain
or maybe
“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”
or
“It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech. “
or
“It’s no wonder that truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense.”
(Does it strike you that Abu Gonzalez is straight out of a Mark Twain story?)
April 9th, 2007 at 11:52 amAlberto Gonzales’s own firing offenses go well beyond politically motivated sackings of U.S. attorneys. For more, see:
“The Top 10 Reasons Gonzales Must Go.”
For the latest news, hearings, legal filings and other essential documents on the Bush DOJ prosecutor firings, see:
April 9th, 2007 at 11:53 am“The U.S. Attorney Scandal Documents.”
Just greasing the skids for him to plead the Fifth.
April 9th, 2007 at 11:53 amYou know that someone is allowing this behavior to be “okayâ€, or they would be embarassed to even think such a thing.
Comment by Bluedahlia
I remember one student walked up to the prof, explained that he couldn’t get the paper done because he’d been partying all weekend, so could he get an extension. I almost kissed the prof’s feet when he said the kid had until the end of office hours that day to get the paper in — no extension. That kid was sooo pissed off. Amazing….
April 9th, 2007 at 11:54 amMitt Romney was caught in lies…McCain is a known liar….and now Giuliani lies about his underworld connections…pathetic group of thugs!
As the rethug commitment to honest, integrity and morality is a mile wide but a micron thick
one of them, I’m betting guliani, will be the rethug presidential nominee.
My dream ticket cheney/gingrich 08
April 9th, 2007 at 11:54 amGonzales is being tamped down the barrel of a cannon, and we’re going to see a marvelous one-gun salute as he sails off into oblivion.
April 9th, 2007 at 11:56 amSeedy will try to make a deal tieing his resignation to effectively suspending the investigation into the AG firings. It should be NO DEAL because this scandal is really about controlling the outcome of future elections. Why was Rove’s guy put in Little Rock….to stir up crap on Hillary?
April 9th, 2007 at 11:57 am“You don’t need a memory when you tell the truth.” Mark Twain
April 9th, 2007 at 12:00 pmBRILLIANT!!!
April 9th, 2007 at 12:00 pmMost don’t have a rejoinder to that one, other than to look down at the ground……….
Comment by Raven
If they have the grace to look at the ground, does that mean they’re salvagable?
April 9th, 2007 at 12:11 pmA pig is a pig. You can clean it up, put lip-stick on it and dress it up. It’s still a pig.
This should be some viewing fun for all of us who have waited so long to see these bastards be held accountable. One can only hope that when this brick falls it starts the avalanche that will bring this entire corrupt government down.
It only goes to show how far this country has sunk when gonzo is being brought down by something rather trivial compared to the other crimes he’s committed, such as endorsing illegal wire-tapping and advocating torture.
April 9th, 2007 at 12:11 pmHeck with the prep time, just waterboard him. I’m sure he’ll tell the truth then! After all, if such testimony is good enough for the President to execute someone following a Military Commission tribunal, it should be good enough to get to the bottom of the U.S. Attorney scandal.
I can just see it now:
April 9th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
#31. Zooey.
April 9th, 2007 at 12:16 pmAbsolutely! It means they have an awareness, and a willingness to listen…
al-Boardo Gone-zalez
April 9th, 2007 at 12:19 pmWouldn’t the preparation be a lot simpler if he just told the truth?
I would bet they hadn’t thought of that strategy.
April 9th, 2007 at 12:20 pmHe’s not ready for what?
He hasn’t graduated from lying school?
He’s not a professional liar yet?
Maybe the CIA is prepping him with a quick mind control session.
With this administration, lies are truth.
April 9th, 2007 at 12:24 pmNO Duh, he wasn’t ready. Only a toddler would be impressed with Gonzales’ performances.
April 9th, 2007 at 12:25 pmOld “Shifty” Gonzales even has his handlers bumbling along. How did this guy ever get to wher he is, even with Bush as his bubba?
April 9th, 2007 at 12:26 pmJust a wee bit of a question here. Who’s in charge at the Justice Department, while the AG and most of his senior staff are engaged in these rehearsals (that would be unnecessary if they had just been honest)??? Isn’t the fact that he can’t function in his role at this time, indicative of his need to resign. It is inexcuseable for the US Justice Department to be led by someone who must take himself away from his duties and responsibilities to the Constitution, go into hiding, prepare and rehearse responses, and hope he gets through hearing in another week.
Most don’t have a rejoinder to that one, other than to look down at the ground……….
April 9th, 2007 at 12:31 pmYou don’t know any Straussians do you??? Or Randian objectivists??? Lying is necessary when engaging the subordinate ignorant masses. Screw the rest of us.
“Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has virtually wiped his public schedule clean to bone up for his long-awaited April 17 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee…”
Gonzo- what about ‘the children’, have you forgotten about them already?
April 9th, 2007 at 12:34 pmspyder.
April 9th, 2007 at 12:37 pmOh, I’m completely aware of the liars who are completely sociopathic, and have no conscience, and don’t want to besides…
(You know, like G.Dubious, Deadeye, McCain, et al)
I just don’t waste any time with them.
They are beyond my limited ability to be of any help.
Someone with more smarts than I please answer: Why would this be leaked to “tamp down expectations?” Whose expectations? What exact expectations are being tamped down? I don’t understand the implication of “leaking” to tamp down expectations. Duh. Also, if gonzo resigns before the 17th, isn’t he still required to testify? If not, why the hell not? Thanks to anyone!
April 9th, 2007 at 12:46 pmThe honorable thing to do would be to commit hari kiri.
April 9th, 2007 at 12:51 pm#43 — I expect it means we can anticipate hearing a lot of “I’m sorry, I don’t have an recollection of that date, person, event, fact, and regardless of the question, that will be my answer. After all, this is so complicated and as my deal friend GWB would say, ‘It’s really hard work.’”
April 9th, 2007 at 1:00 pmpoor Gonzo, caught in the web of his own lies…
April 9th, 2007 at 1:02 pmIf they “tamp down expectations” then people will expect him to look like a babbling fool. We will all focus on his “performance” and “improper recollections” rather than the evaisions and lies.
“Tamping dow expectations” worked for Bush in the 2000 debates with Gore. GW won the first debate by not wetting himself under the lights.
April 9th, 2007 at 1:09 pmann @ 43 This is ed gillespie RNC chair and kkkarl working two tracks. one is misdirection and the other letting the base know that there is going to be no stunning performance by the AG. They have been pumping up their folks for these hearings; mrs beasley and kkkarl junior only to be disappointed. If on the other hand Torquemada comes in and does a credible job he comes off looking good.
April 9th, 2007 at 1:11 pmIs the idea supposed to be that they suggest that Gonzo will be so pathetic that when he is only slightly pathetic he will look better than we expected? Or if he says I don’t remember fewer than 150 times we’ll think he’s doing just great? I don’t think so. That low/expectations thing might work if Gonzo was half-way competent. He isn’t so it won’t. Gonzo is Gonezo.
April 9th, 2007 at 1:12 pmSo many lies, so many tangled webs, so little time. You’ve got to know that the recriminations are going to come fast and hard with this putz so utterly clueless at this point in the game, they’re going to have to really ratchet up the noise to divert peoples attention.
April 9th, 2007 at 1:28 pmhelenahandbasket,
I think thats the most accurate and concise description of this regime I’ve read, good work.
April 9th, 2007 at 1:35 pmThis information is rather telling. Maybe Gonzales should not even show up. Better yet he should take the 5th. HA!
April 9th, 2007 at 1:49 pmHe is in too far over his head.
April 9th, 2007 at 2:02 pmHe has told too many lies.
He cannot keep it all straight in his head.
He doesn’t have the capacity.
He is like Bush – he has reached his Peter Principle.
Neither one can go any higher, but they can sure wreak havoc as long as they reign.
This is just a smoke screen to support the ignorance over malice syndrome. Just like Orin Hatch suggesting that he really meant someone other than Carol Lam on MTP. Pure BS. They’re running with the incompetence defense when purely it was a calculated effort orchestrated by karl Rove to suppress voter turn out in blue states and accelerate prosecutions of Democrats for voter fraud. Don’t believe the time line screw up meme one bit. Impeach the Ag asap( He blocked the issuance of security clearances regarding an internal investigation of his own dept.) and convict him so he cannot be pardoned and the move on to the VP .Lying bastards.
April 9th, 2007 at 2:18 pmComment by spyder — April 9, 2007 @ 12:31 pm
The Department runs itself now, now that all the U.S. Attorneys are “Loyal Bushies.” Remember, less than a dozen were determined to not be “Loyal Bushies” and they were replaced. They all know what to do, and whom to go after.
April 9th, 2007 at 3:04 pmThey’re already telling us Gonzales’ testimony will consist of, “I can’t be sure. I don’t recall the exact dates. I don’t remember.”
We will soon learn that everybody in the Bush Administration, has faulty memory.
April 9th, 2007 at 3:08 pmTurns out Gonza’s utter lack of prosecutorial experience — like most of his DOJ hires — leaves him rather vulnerable to expert cross examination. Of course Gonza’s probably never had a real job interview either.
Fortunately he can now be a role model for all his likewise inexperienced ideological hires — the Goodlings, Pauloses, and the remaining cream of neo-con thirty-somethings now running Karl Rogue’s DOJ.
April 9th, 2007 at 3:39 pmThe man’s subnormal intelligence is evident. He is the kind of guy George Bush feels good around: someone perhaps dummer than he. Yes, stupid, ruthless, delusional, criminal….George’s type of public servant.
April 9th, 2007 at 3:50 pmHere’s an idea, tell the truth!
April 9th, 2007 at 4:17 pmI am all for water boarding the guy.
Water boarding is not known for eliciting the truth but it cannot be any less truthful than the lies he is practicing.
Abu was a prime supporter of water boarding and so should get to demonstrate it as the subject on C-SPAN.
April 9th, 2007 at 5:20 pmLet’s see…let’s get him to admit he’s a hen turkey.
The truth does not require rehearsal. That “tangled web” that is woven when there is deception, on the other hand, needs alot of it.
April 9th, 2007 at 5:45 pmNOT ONLY IS GONZOales “not prepared,” HE IS IN WAY OVER HIS HEAD—GONZO IS GONE, ZO!!!!! KICK THIS MISERABLE JOKER, THIS SWEATY-BROWED GRINNING GREASER CLOWN OUT ON HIS DUFF AND LOCK HIM UP IN PRISON OR GIVE HIM THE OPTION OF RATTING OUT HIS “COLLEAGUES” IN THE white house SO WE CAN HAVE A REAL “NECKTIE PARTY” WITH CHIMPya AND Bushland Uber Allies!!!!
April 9th, 2007 at 6:26 pm“Oh it’s SPRINGTIME for Bushland and FASCIST CREEPS,
They’re NAZI but NICE? I DOUBT IT VERY MUCCCHHHHHHH…….
Oh It’s SPRINGTIME and Der Fuhrer CHIMPya is PRANCING ‘ROUND
The white house WITHOUT A STITCH ON, EXCEPT FOR A HARD-ON..
And FRANKENCheney is CLANKING AROUND……
So LET US CHEER and HEIL!!!!!!!!! BRAAAAP! BRAAAAP! BRAAAAP!
With the GASES from our BESMIRCHED ANUSES………
In HONOUR of the BIGGEST ANUSHOLE OF THEM ALL……….
Der Fuhrer Monkey Boy CHIMPya!!!!!!!!!!!
FARE THEE WELL, GONZO-boy, SCRAM, BEAT IT, GET LOST!!!!!!!”
If AG were planning to tell the truth, why would he need two weeks of coaching?
April 9th, 2007 at 10:49 pmHey Abu G, if you tell the truth you don’t have to remember what you said
Comment by klyde — April 9, 2007 @ 11:29 am@ #8
Too late. They are now fixing the “truth (the whole truth and nothing but the truth)” to fit the lies….
April 10th, 2007 at 12:04 amQuestion Why would the Attorney General of the United States
have to rehearse their testimony for nearly 2 weeks prior testifying?
April 10th, 2007 at 12:09 amHey Nico, shouldn’t the title of this post be:
“Gonzales suggests Senate Judiciary Committee was behind 9/11″
Sure, nothing like that appears in the transcript you posted but why let that hold you back ?
April 10th, 2007 at 8:12 amHey Nico, shouldn’t the title of this post be:
“Gonzales suggests Senate Judiciary Committee was behind 9/11″
Sure, nothing like that appears in the transcript you posted but why let that hold you back, you hack ?
April 10th, 2007 at 8:12 amI wonder how a person can not be ready to just tell the damn truth?
April 10th, 2007 at 11:12 amalberta blue cross
Interestingly, this was on CNN last week.
April 8th, 2008 at 3:27 amCollege Funding For Nursing
Found your blog on yahoo – thanks for the article but i still don’t get it.
April 13th, 2008 at 8:30 am