A Line in the Sand: New Strategy on the US Attorneys “scandal”

(What should happen)

WASHINGTON, Mar 20th. Today the Bush administration reversed course on their response to congressional pressure on the US Attorney firings. The President announced from the Rose Garden that all current US attorneys now have a 6 month deadline to make significant and meaningful progress on investigation into reports of voter fraud in recent elections or face immediate dismissal. US Attorneys that are too engaged in other projects may request an extension, he said “but this administration doesn’t take voter fraud as lightly as congress does, and it will not tolerate Attorney’s who fail to carry out its legal priorities.”Prosecutors are an arm of my administration whose job is to carry out my policies. Prosecutorial discretion, vested in the executive branch, allows us to focus limited resources on the problems that most demand attention. Making certain that the votes of American citizens are counted and not watered down by fraud, insuring that those who try to cheat our system of representation will be punished is a top priority of my administration.” Later the President opened it up for questions. When asked if he regretted the communications before that communicated a interest in firing all 92 US Attorneys, he said “I really should apologize to the American people for not making voter fraud a priority sooner and for not cleaning up the US Attorney’s office sooner. Their ability to make their voices heard and to make their government accountable are too important, and my administration will fight for that.” When asked why he was suddenly implementing policy that seemed to have been abandoned, the President responded “In all honesty, at the time we were trying to safeguard the liberty of those we’ve taken responsibility for abroad, we were busy fighting a battle to ensure that America keeps the promises it made and doesn’t forget the consequences of surrender. It was my opinion at the time that we did not have the resources to fight this battle, to convince Congress how important it was protect the voting rights of our citizens. However, they appear to be spoiling for that very fight anyway, so if we’re going to get in trouble whether we do the right thing or not, we may as well do the right thing.” Asked about Attorney General Gonzalez’ description of events, and claim of mistakes, the President said “Mistakes were made in that we didn’t carry the policy through to fruition. Why did Fredo act guilty? Probably post-traumatic stress. I don’t if you noticed, but that last election resulted in a lot of bomb-throwing here at home. But don’t worry. I’m going to take care of him and the rest of my administration. In 6 months, he’ll be the on reviewing the progress of the US attorneys, and they’d better believe he won’t be so subdued then. From now on, there will be no more pussy-footing around with Congress. They want to fight? They want to play politics with voter fraud? Bring it on.” The President left the stage with a smirk and a noticeable swagger. Reports of nearby bango music are unsubstantiated, and the unusual concentration of tumbleweed in the Rose garden that day is believed to be entirely coincidental.

There’ve been enough legit scandals that Dhimms have turned to political advantage, forcing the administration to be so focused on it’s internals that it cannot control events outside 1600 Penn. It’s time throw it back in their faces, and the circumstances couldn’t be better. The administration’s only weakness on the “scandal” is that they haven’t bothered defending it. They’ve more-or-less apologized for it so many times and hidden from it that it looks like something bad must have happened. Switching gears usually is a bad thing, it hurts the perception of leadership under a great many circumstances, but here it can’t possibly lower that perception, and taking a strong enough stand for an issue of such importance could make considerable political reverses.

FYI, leave your lame-duck arguments at the door. Perceptions created by the “common wisdom” (which in turn were created by the liberal media to suit their agenda) are only true if we make them true. W’s presidency isn’t over unless he decides to end it (by rolling over and playing dead, or by continuing to duck fights). This is the best chance he’s had to turn things around in 2 years. He needs to jump on it now. The Dhimms think 2006 was a watershed change, they’re over-playing their cards, and it’s time to call their unwitting bluff.