If at First You Don't Succeed...

Lie and Lie again.

Alberto Gonzalez, were he my brother, would be out in the woodshed with my Mom right now. My siblings and I would be in the house talking in hushed tones, wondering whether he'd return in one piece, whether he'd ever see the light of day again before college, whether he'd ever get to date a girl, talk on the phone or do anything but chores till he could move out at 18.

Such was the penalty for lying in my house. I don't even know what the penalty would have been for lying about lying. And my mind's wildest imagination can't even stretch to the place where I can envision the consequences of lying, lying about lying, and then joking about it to warm applause from friends.

Gonzalez has no shame. Then again, he's part of an administration that doesn't know the meaning of the word. Back when President Clinton was deep in the throes of the Lewinsky situation, conservatives crowed, "What about the children?! What am I supposed to tell my kids about the President's behavior?!" May I respectfully request that the same standard be used in this case? What DO we tell our kids about people in power with only a loose understanding of, perhaps, and certainly a firm disregard for, the tenets of our democratic republic? About people whose only defense, if they see fit to mount one rather than tell us all to eff off, is that "Clinton did it too"? About people who make the Clinton statement, knowing full well it's not even accurate, although it is excellent messaging designed to distract people from the facts of THIS situation?

Does Alberto Gonzalez want us all to believe that he delegated the decision to fire multiple US attorneys to his Chief of Staff? That's either a lie or it's an abdication of his AG responsibilities. Either way, Gonzalez should resign. Does Alberto Gonzalez really think we should all believe that the White House had no role in this situation, notwithstanding the emails back and forth mentioning Harriet Miers and Karl Rove? Does Alberto Gonzalez really think it's appropriate to go to an event in Houston and joke about "the bumpy road" he's on these days and bask in the warm glow of "friends"?

This whole situation is rotten from the top down, and it's time to stop the lies. You've been caught. The emails and the calls are on record. The political issues behind the firings are a matter of record. For your own dignity and, as my friends on the right would say, for the sake of America's children, it's time to stop lying. There is nothing more cringe-inducing than watching someone who is being shown all the evidence of his lying continuing to lie. In personal affairs, it's painful to witness the lying person's loss of dignity and to feel the sting of wondering why this person thinks you are stupid enough to believe obvious lies. You keep hammering the person with the evidence because you are so desperate to stop his or her descent toward zero credibility. I feel the same way about public lying, especially in our democracy. Yes, this is a "victory" for those of us who don't support Bush and his minions. But it's an ongoing defeat for both the letter and spirit of our country's democracy, and I want the bleeding to end.

Gonzalez, step down. Rove, admit your role. Bush, grow a conscience.

Or, as Alan Dershowitz (not my favorite guy, btw) said about choosing one action over another (and as my Mom would agree): "If you're not willing to defend it publicly, don't do it."

Seems like good advice for everyone, doesn't it?