President Clinton: Gonzales Should ‘Step Aside’
By on Apr 19th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
President Clinton: Gonzales Should ‘Step Aside’
In an interview with CNN’s Larry King tonight, President Bill Clinton says the best thing Alberto Gonzales can do for the President he has “served so loyally is to step aside”:
I understand why President Bush is reluctant to let him go. I don’t think he ought to force the President to fire him. He had a long and good run here. And if what I saw coming out of Sen. Specter today and others is right, and there’s a lot of opposition to him in the Congress. These cases raise real troubling questions — these U.S. Attorney firings. The best thing he could do for this president that he served so loyally is to step aside.
Watch it:
[flv http://video.thinkprogress.org/2007/04/bcgonzo.320.240.flv]
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All bow down, we have invoked the god of “Bubba”.
Heh.
(chimpy makes him look good)
April 19th, 2007 at 7:26 pmBut, but Clinton did it…
April 19th, 2007 at 7:27 pmStop the Lies.
Whether Gonzo ’steps aside’ or is fired is not the important thing here.
Gonzo needs to go to prison for his crimes. Just losing his job, either voluntarily or involuntarily, doesn’t cut it.
Of course, I’m sure we can make a deal on the jail time…we’ll just need you to name a few names…
April 19th, 2007 at 7:30 pmSchumer:
“Whatever the White House does, [Gonzales] shouldn’t be there”
“He’s made a pretty convincing case himself that he shouldn’t.”
“Even the White House, as intransigent as they are, will not keep him after today.”
And, yes, I DO take it personally
April 19th, 2007 at 7:31 pmBush makes a LOT of people look good. Hell, Herbert Hoover looks good next to Bush. Nixon looks good next to Bush. Forget the Big Dog. There’s no legitimate comparison.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:31 pmI thought it didn’t matter what Clinton did? If not, did Larry ask him if he ever fired U.S. Attorneys for political reasons?
April 19th, 2007 at 7:32 pmLOL I remember Bush #1 and #2 and Clinton all on the Bush Boat fishing together then I wonder why the FED has turned into a sea of lies..
April 19th, 2007 at 7:34 pmWanna bet, profmarcus?
April 19th, 2007 at 7:35 pmComment by Harvey Mc Kanna
Old debunked neocon lie there, Joke
What a moron
April 19th, 2007 at 7:36 pmHarvey, how many times to people have to point this out before people like you get it through their mellons: Reagan, GHW Bush AND Clinton got rid of all or most of their federal prosecutors at the beginning of their terms of office as all presidents do. This current scandal is about removing prosecutors during your term who are engaged in cases which might harm you politically. The number of prosecutors removed DURING their term over the course of the last 25 years before the current purge: a grand total of 5.
Get it?
April 19th, 2007 at 7:40 pmClinton doesn’t get it. He is still operating from the assumption that the baseline is that Gone-zales will best serve the President as AG on the basis of effective administration of the DoJ and not damage the chimp politically more by petulantly staying on.
Those are false assumptions. Gone-zales is there because Gone-zales is Bush’s personal attorney heading up the DoJ to protect the criminal activities the Bush regime has committed, form coming to light, and because he knows were every body in Bush’s past is buried. Anyone who thinks Gone-zales is going to resign and that would help Chimpy by doing so, is assuming (wrongly) that what spills out of Gone-zales steps-down will be FAR more damaging to Bush, personally and professionally. Controlling the DoJ with a personal loyalist is what is keeping Bush from being impeached (or worse).
April 19th, 2007 at 7:40 pmYou mean it DOES matter now what Clinton did, Wayne?
April 19th, 2007 at 7:40 pmMust be fun to be a Bush apologist these days. For a few years they screamed about how everyone agreed with them….They pointed to their “Redstate” maps and crowed the people are on OUR side.
Now Bush is at a pathetic 29% in the polls, the Republic Party is abandoning him in the droves, he’s even lost good old boys like Donald Trump and Lee Iacocca.
Now they rage pathetically about how the media is against them…the liberals…the Democrats…..
Oh, pathetic.
-GSD
April 19th, 2007 at 7:43 pmComment by Harvey Mc Kanna — April 19, 2007 @ 7:32 pm
I see Shakey has come up with yet another alias.
What’s the matter, Shakey? Were Elizabeth’s lacey unmentionables chafing you?
April 19th, 2007 at 7:43 pm#6 Clinton only fired two of his own AG appointments. One for corruption, the other for biting a striper (literally) after losing a big drug case. For as much as all the evils of the world being caused by Clinton’s penis according to Fright-wingers, firing his own U.S. Attorney’s for fraudulent, contrived reasons, simply didn’t occur.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:44 pmAt least 5, BlueDog49. I will watch tonight if Larry King asks Clinton or not.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:47 pm#5 – I couldn’t agree more.
Never, evern thought I would see the day when even Nixon looked kind of normal – hell, he was a frickin saint compared to this bunch.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:48 pmIt is fun, GSD. Remember the Alamo!
April 19th, 2007 at 7:48 pmmuzz:
I was watching “All the President’s Men” last night. You really think Bush is more paranoid than Tricky Dick?
April 19th, 2007 at 7:49 pmObviously The List is still in effect.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:49 pmComment by Bluedog49 — April 19, 2007 @ 7:40 pm
and the LYING had a big part to play here…
all the time with the LIES…
April 19th, 2007 at 7:51 pmNamtillaku sez:
Looks that way. At least I don’t have to stump him all over again to get back on The List â„¢ (although it’s never hard to do with Shakey).
April 19th, 2007 at 7:53 pmHey Harvey, the republican congress investigated Clinton to see if he was using his Christmas card list for political purposes. Do you really think they would have given him a pass on removing a prosecutor for political reasons???!!! Get serious.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:54 pmWe shouldn’t compare any president to Bush, because they’re all better than him. Clinton is better than Bush, but then, so is my cat.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:56 pmThe GOP was not in control of the House until 1995 and the Senate in 1997. My question to Clinton would cover his entire two terms.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:00 pmJaneane:
Clinton was NOT better than either Bush.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:01 pmI will note that Bill Clinton refused to “step aside” as well.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:06 pmAs long as we have Gonzo to beat up, the more likely we are to win elections. Gonzo is incompetent just like his boss and the rest of the administration…the Bush Crime Family.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:09 pmDubya makes Nixon look like an alter boy.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:11 pmLOL @ 25 truth hurts eh?
April 19th, 2007 at 8:14 pmClinton was better than both Bushes put together.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:18 pmlestatdelc @11,
I agree with you that the Bushies can’t afford to throw AGAG overboard and they’ll hang onto him until the bitter end (which may be before quitting time tomorrow). His departure is just another thread pulled away from an unraveling quilt.
Of course Clinton knows exactly what he’s doing, he’s amping up the rhetoric in the hopes of making it completely untenable for the CheneyBush administration to carry on with this dope heading up the DoJ. Of course I fully expect the rightwing wurlitzer to shift into overdrive in response. They’ll dig in their heels with greater intensity now that they have Clinton’s comments to prop up as a rallying cry for their base. Expect that Clinton audio to be on every wingnut radio show in America tomorrow. After all, blaming Clinton is about all they’ve got left.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:22 pmThis whole situation reflects on how unresponsive the Bush administration has been to the needs and desires of the public. Instead of this corrupt administration, we deserve a compassionate one that is committed to solving the problems facing our country and the world, namely global poverty.
According to the Borgen Project, it costs just $19 billion annually to end starvation, while our government has already spent over $340 billion on the war in Iraq. Something can definitely be done, and I hope this administration will step up and do something. If not, I hope the candidates will start addressing poverty issues.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:23 pm#32 fair point. Even when they don’t have audio clips to twist and distort, they simply fabricate shit out of whole cloth and slap a “some people say” crap.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:27 pm“You really think Bush is more paranoid than Tricky Dick?”
Comment by Harvey Mc Kanna
Sir, I do not believe such a premise. DUHbya is not smart enough to be paranoid.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:28 pmSir, I do not believe such a premise. DUHbya is not smart enough to be paranoid.
Comment by Clyde the Ripper
hehe
April 19th, 2007 at 8:32 pmyeah like Harvey/Jake/Elizabeth/Moron
“You really think Bush is more paranoid than Tricky Dick?â€
At least Nixon had the good sense to not admit wiretapping publicly due to to his paranoia, \/\/ not so much……
April 19th, 2007 at 8:38 pmI am honestly beginning to abhor the comments of the former President. He is actively campaigning for his wife, who is often cited as a front runner in the next presidential run.
Sorry, he did good, you did good Bill, but you know, anything your say will be interpreted as another bid for yourself to be a resident of the White House, via your wife.
I will take Jimmy Carter, these days, over Bill Clinton, because of Bill’s attachment and inability to leave it, to the White House, which I think he desperately wants to occupy once moreas he hated to leave it in the first place, and perceives he can do so by hanging on the coatails of his wife. Uh huh–you don’t get it from me, dear Bill. Sorry.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:41 pmMore I think about it, the more I wonder if Clinton didn’t do the Bushbats a favor with this one??
Hey Harvey, I’ll ask you the same question that I ask all of the Bush apologists, and it’s a sincere question. Can you name me three successful policy decisions/efforts that this administration has made?
April 19th, 2007 at 8:42 pmif using the federal police and enforcement apparatus to subvert the democratic process is not high crimes and misdemeanors , then what is?
April 19th, 2007 at 8:42 pmThe only way Jake could get out of the tiny little corner of ignoring everyone into which he’d painted himself was by being reborn under different monikers… LOL
For future reference Jake – it’s just easier to pick your battles wisely…
April 19th, 2007 at 8:43 pm“I will note that Bill Clinton refused to “step aside†as well.
Comment by Harvey Mc Kanna — April 19, 2007 @ 8:06 pm”
Step aside for getting a bj?
Jealous and delusional much?
April 19th, 2007 at 8:44 pmChimpy and his cabal of criminals are worse than any of us could have imagined. They’ve done more damage to this nation than all of its other enemies combined.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:45 pmThanks for the suggestion, Harvey. We already taped the interview, so maybe next time though.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:47 pmThe United States was the laughing stock of the world when the prude right wing whackos impeached Clinton for getting a blow job. One of the world leaders laughed and said “I get that all of the time. What is wrong with it.” We need to run these sexually frustrated bastards out of the country. They are the same people that were kicked out of England for being stuck up religious zealots. Freaks are what they are. They don’t fit in with the natural order of this planet.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:48 pm“After all, blaming Clinton is about all they’ve got left.
Comment by Jay — April 19, 2007 @ 8:22 pm”
Exactly…
April 19th, 2007 at 8:48 pmComment by Larry King — April 19, 2007 @ 8:47 pm
Hey TP…how’s that user registration coming along?
We could really use some of that here.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:52 pmFreaks are what they are. They don’t fit in with the natural order of this planet.
Comment by Spudge_Boy — April 19, 2007 @ 8:48 pm
DNA thinks the sole purpose of existence is procreation. That’s why sex is a need, and we begin to deteriorate once we get too old to breed any longer.
It’s unnatural to hate sex so much…
April 19th, 2007 at 8:55 pmCan you believe the balls on these war criminals? To tell Waxman and Leahy (along with 75% of the rest of the nation) to go Cheney themselves with their “executive priveledge” claim to those RNC emails?
I suppose once you’ve flipped the bird to the world by dismissing the Geneva Conventions, torturing humans, lying the nation to war, etc. what difference does this make.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:56 pmWe need to run these sexually frustrated bastards out of the country.
Set up a sexual rehabilitation camp, to teach them how to perform normal sex. No ball gags, relatives, or auto-erotica. Locate the camp in Nevada, to take advantage of the relaxed legal standards, and give the hookers who service them tax-exempt status, as an incentive…
April 19th, 2007 at 8:56 pmWhat does William Rockefeller Clinton know?
Clinton is busy getting ready to bring the NWO into full gear when Feminist Hillary gets SELECTED (not elected by the people) by the Elites who control the Federal Reserve.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:02 pmExpanding upon my previous post, the largest concentrations of these repressed freaks are in Colorado and Utah, so locating in Nevada makes good economic sense, as it is relatively close by.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:03 pmGonzo should step off and up outta here…
April 19th, 2007 at 9:03 pmSo far, I asked him about Virginia Tech, partial-birth abortion, and the Obama threat. I really should grow some balls.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:07 pmI really should grow some balls.
Comment by Larry King
Didn’t wife # 2 get custody of those?
April 19th, 2007 at 9:11 pmTalk about a lack of balls? Try picking a name and sticking with it. Don’t be afraid to identify yourself, be proud of your in-depth knowledge of political affairs.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:13 pmThis is what Prez Clinton said “He had a long and good run here.”
****Clearly out of touch just like his stance in supporting Bush’s responce to Katrina & the Iraq war.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:15 pmThink he is thinking of Monica folks ?
Well said Pres Clinton — almost always a gentleman. :)
Jake is Harvey and Larry on this thread? Time to call the home…
April 19th, 2007 at 9:17 pmLOL @ 25 Keep sippin the koolaid moonbat
April 19th, 2007 at 9:40 pmnow thats a president…gwb43 should take lessons from bill…. oh yea that would require listening to someone else….my bad.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:50 pmI hate to be the one to drop a turd in the collective punchbowl, but I saw this on another thread:
Did Mann Coulter refuse to cooperate in an investigation about whether she voted in the wrong precinct last year?
Comment by Harvey Mc Kanna — April 19, 2007 @ 6:28 pm
I do believe it is Rachel. She would jump both ways as well; making noises like a liberal, and then suddenly having a psychotic meltdown, and attacking everyone on the board.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:51 pmSorry, haters. Bill Clinton is a class act who, every time he appears, makes the smirking chimp look worse and worse.
Whether you agree with him or not, he’s a man who thinks. He examines ideas and looks for practical solutions to the problems we face in the world today. I saw him speak in Los Angeles last week and was just blown away.
A lesser man wouldn’t be calmly analyzing the present situation and giving the current administration any respect at all — he’d be screaming “Wait a minute — you spent 8 years giving me shit for haircuts, Christmas cards, blow jobs and a old land deal but this putz doesn’t even have an independent prosecutor on his ass yet?!?!?!
My hat’s off to him.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:54 pmRachel also liked to use complex “names”
April 19th, 2007 at 9:59 pmHarvey Mc Kanna = Jake
April 19th, 2007 at 10:09 pmWow, this is a response from a man who fraternized, committed adultery and lied under oath? He’s full of hypocrisy. Clinton, why didn’t you step down after your incident?
April 19th, 2007 at 10:18 pmHarvey Mc Kanna = Jake
Comment by Zooey
Proof?
If Harvey’s Rachel, and by your inference, Jake … well, you do the math.
April 19th, 2007 at 10:20 pmDid Mann Coulter refuse to cooperate in an investigation about whether she voted in the wrong precinct last year?
Comment by Harvey Mc Kanna — April 19, 2007 @ 6:28 pm
Have any of Jake/Harvey’s posts been similar to this one? I don’t think I’ve read any where Jake called his hero “Mann,” so I think perhaps we’re seeing another name-morphing meltdown by Rachel, the Dr. Who of trolls.
April 19th, 2007 at 10:26 pmWow, this is a response from a man who fraternized, committed adultery and lied under oath? He’s full of hypocrisy. Clinton, why didn’t you step down after your incident?
Comment by Daryll — April 19, 2007 @ 10:18 pm
Harvey Mc Kanna = Jake
Ooooh, Clinton got a blow job and Daryll’s still freaked out about it. Why don’t you idiot neocons get your own life and maybe you won’t be so obsessed with somebody else having a good time.
April 19th, 2007 at 10:35 pmVery cunning of President Clinton to do this.
Notice how his appearance just draws the whirling wingnuts out of the woodwork? They just go berzerk every time they see him.
Which is, of course, why he:
a) gave Bush excellent advice (because he knows that Bush and his wingnut base oppose anything President Clinton favors, out of sheer lizard-brain reflex) and –
b) subtly and repeatedly referred to Gonzales’ “loyalty” to Bush — NOT to the government or the American people, but to BUSH. This reminds everyone of how Bush and his minions have stuffed the government fro stem to stern with purely political hacks and buddies whose biggest (and in many case only) qualification was strapping on the kneepads for Bush.
April 19th, 2007 at 10:49 pmBill Clinton needs to call for VP Cheney to resign and he needs to tell Hillary to stop backing the Iraq Fiasco War.
April 19th, 2007 at 11:04 pmProof?
If Harvey’s Rachel, and by your inference, Jake … well, you do the math.
Comment by B.Fly
Same pattern and style as yesterday’s “Elizabeth,” who was also Jake.
Sorry, I guess that’s not proof, but he’s not exactly hiding it.
Rachel also has a definite pattern, and that’s not her.
Please don’t ask me to explain the patterns, because I don’t think I could. :)
April 19th, 2007 at 11:21 pmBut you can tell them when you see them, like art… or porn…
The List â„¢ Does seem to still be in effect! : )
April 19th, 2007 at 11:54 pmBut you can tell them when you see them, like art… or porn…
The List â„¢ Does seem to still be in effect! : )
Comment by SKdeA
Thank goodness, I got on that list early. Although Jake et al ignores his list with his “For the record….” statements.
April 19th, 2007 at 11:57 pmit’s unnatural to hate sex so much…
Comment by unbelievable
Tell that to my wife…
April 20th, 2007 at 12:08 amCaption Contest:
Larry, did I hear that right? Did you just ask to see the Clenis?
April 20th, 2007 at 1:03 amRachel also has a definite pattern, and that’s not her.
Comment by Zooey — April 19, 2007 @ 11:21 pm
We”ll see. If “Troll Alert” suddenly pops up, posting everywhere, we’ll know it’s Rache.
April 20th, 2007 at 1:22 amI agree with those who think that Bush will hang on to Gonzales for as long as he possibly can, Gonzales being irreplaceable.
Who else could Bush turn to for a legal cover for torture? Who else would fire US Attorney’s to keep them from investigating Republicans?
Ever notice how so many of the people that surround Bush, Karl Rove, Harriet Meirs, Brownie, Gonzales, etc. are third rate? Unlike Bill Clinton, Bush obviously feels threatened by smart, competent, honest people, because they make him look bad in comparison.
Things will have to get a lot worse before AG walks the plank.
April 20th, 2007 at 4:07 amLetting your partner in crime go, Mr Bill Clinton??
You were involved in the drug deals everywhere……It was you who wanted Gonzales to cover up the drug crimes!!!!!!!!!!!!!
April 20th, 2007 at 4:22 amClinton talking abougt corruption and stepping down? oh man classic and then the Democrats wonder why conservatives keep on talking about this worthless human being. If he interjects himself in the debates he is fair game.
ridiculous Clinton who said over 200 times, “I do not recall…”
April 20th, 2007 at 10:27 amGood points, j.j.
April 20th, 2007 at 11:34 amThe full transcript from Larry King (who did not ask Harvey’s real troubling question):
KING: Welcome back to LARRY KING LIVE.
My guest is America’s 42nd president, Bill Clinton.
Today, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was grilled by the Senate Judiciary Committee in a very contentious hearing.
I asked President Clinton, should the attorney general keep his job?
B. CLINTON: I think he ought to resign. I noticed several of our prominent leaders in both — at least the Democrats, including Hillary, have asked him to resign.
I think that, you know, he obviously loves the president and he has tried to serve him faithfully. Sometimes the worst thing you can do for a president is to tell them what they want to hear. And, you know, I always — I told people when I was president that no one would ever be fired, demoted or exiled for telling me something I didn’t want to hear. If all I needed was what I wanted to hear, I could govern by computer. You need people that give you the whole deal.
But I think he’s been loyal to President Bush. And I understand why President Bush is reluctant to let him go. I don’t think he ought to force the president to fire him. I think he ought to — he’s a long and good run here.
And if what I saw coming out of Senator Specter today and others is right, and there is a lot of opposition to him in the Congress, and these cases raise real troubling questions — these U.S. attorney firings — the best thing he could do for this president that he serves so loyally is to step aside.
April 20th, 2007 at 11:46 amZooey and B.Fly:
If you believe “Troll Alert†“Troll Alert†“Troll Alert†lets you off the hook from answering “real troubling questions” I guess that’s what you will have to resort to.
April 20th, 2007 at 11:48 amIf you believe “Troll Alert†“Troll Alert†“Troll Alert†lets you off the hook from answering “real troubling questions†I guess that’s what you will have to resort to.
Comment by michael
Jake,
Troll Alert is the name of a commenter. Stop being an ass, and use your own name.
April 20th, 2007 at 7:02 pmWHAT THE @#%. WE ALL KNOW GONZALES IS A BOY LOVER FROM TEXAS. HIS TRAIL IN THE TEXAS YOUTH COMMISSION IS BREAKING WIDE OPEN HERE IN TEXAS. OVER 100 ARE FACING CHARGES THE WHOLE LEADERSHIP HAS RESIGNED. THIS IS NO DIFFERENT IN THE ATTORNEY BS. THEY WERE SACRIFICED BY BUSH AND LITTLE AL IS THE FALL GUY. THIS YO YO WAS ALL “I DO NOT RECALL” OVER 100 TIMES. HE NEEDS TO THROWN OUT NOWWWWWWWWWWW. I AM SO TIRED OF AMERICAN POLITICS BEING SO TAINTED AND SEXUALLY MOLESTED. SAVE US FROM WHAT IS TO COME.
April 21st, 2007 at 3:40 amI still fume when I think about cowards like him, Bush and Cheney, slyly condone torture. They are slimely caricatures of human beings. I think they all must belong to some sadistic, paganistic society, that caters to the lowest wrung of human nature.
April 22nd, 2007 at 11:15 am[...] Is Step Aside” Posted on 4/20/2007 9:13 AM by brianrApprove (6) | Reject (0) | My vote: None Think Progress You can watch the video as well through the link. In an interview with CNN’s Larry King [...]
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:57 pm