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TechnoratiI used to have lunch occasionally with the late Archibald Cox, the first Watergate special prosecutor, who was fired by President Nixon in the infamous "Saturday Night Massacre" after Cox insisted Nixon was legally required to comply with a subpoena for tapes of conversations that had taken place inside the White House.
I never asked "Archie," as everyone around the law school called him, anything about Watergate, but I was always struck by how difficult it was to imagine Cox doing anything unethical. Appearances can be deceiving, of course, but Cox - a tall, courtly man, with steely blue eyes, and impeccable taste in clothes - always managed to convey the essence of classic WASP rectitude.
Cox, who was the great-grandson of a secretary of state, and a direct descendent of a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was part of a ruling class that had run the country almost as a matter of birthright. Part of being a member of that class involved taking the idea of the rule of law very seriously.
Thus it came as no surprise to anyone that, when Nixon ordered another Boston Brahmin, Attorney General Elliot Richardson, to fire Cox, Richardson resigned in protest rather than comply with Nixon's order (as did Richardson's second in command, Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus).
All this came to my mind when I heard Attorney General Alberto Gonzales had decided to leave the office in order to spend more time with his family, as they say in Washington. The words "Alberto Gonzales resigned in protest after President Bush ordered him to do something Gonzales considered unethical" make up one of those sentences that could theoretically occur in the English language, but, like "Paris Hilton has been awarded the Nobel Prize in physics," there was never any real prospect that someone would have occasion to utter it.
Yale law professor Jack Balkin summarizes Gonzales' tenure as attorney general well: "As for Mr. Gonzales, he was a disgrace to the office. There are many roles he could have competently filled - and did fill - in his career. The nation's chief law enforcement officer was not one of them. He abused his office for political gain, repeatedly misled Congress under oath - and probably out and out lied on more than one occasion - and turned a once proud institution of government into an object of deep suspicion."
When legal historians look back on the Bush administration, they will note that, whether the issue was ignoring international treaties prohibiting torture, or spying on Americans in violation of federal law, or firing U.S. attorneys for the sleaziest of partisan political motives, Gonzales was at the center of it all.
Abject loyalty is a fine thing in a dog, but Gonzales' unlimited devotion to his master became, after a time, a rather stomach-churning sight. Thus I found it particularly offensive that, in announcing his resignation, Gonzales noted that he had "lived the American dream," because "even my worst days as attorney general have been better than my father's best days."
Pablo Gonzales, who died 25 years ago, was a construction worker with an elementary school education who, with his wife Maria, raised Alberto as one of their eight children.
I know nothing more about the man that that, but it seems he did an honest day's work for a day's pay, and that he found a way to put food on the table and clothes on the backs of eight children despite his elementary school education. And we know he never lied to Congress, or helped make it possible for his country's government to torture people, or made a mockery of the rule of law.
I imagine he had a lot of good days.
Paul Campos is a professor of law at the University of Colorado. He can be reached at paul.campos@colorado.edu.
© 2007 Rocky Mountain News
30 Comments so far
Show AllI don't think Gonz necessarily was dissing on his father. I think what he was trying to say was that his father constantly had his nose to the grindstone and never really got much for it, as opposed to the ease with which he "rose to the top" - thanks to cronyism, of course.
A fair analogy for what happened to the "American Dream." So many of us are working our asses off, with not much to show for it. To this day, at 50, and with a "decent" government (!!!) job I've held for 27 years, I skip getting prescriptions filled because, despite my "federal health insurance," I can't afford the meds, and turn down procedures I need (dental especially) because it's still not affordable.
The middle class may not toil in quite the same way as Gonzales' father, but for all our hard work, we get to see the Gonzales's and Bush's and Rove's and Cheney's reap most of the rewards - financial and otherwise - just sitting on their asses, telling lies, and running the show.
Reading the comments and noting the remarks about honorable WASPs who both founded the country, and continue to dominate government; as well as asides about hard working immigrants, I am stricken yet again by the realization of what a bunch of lightweights we've become.
It's as if the technological revolution destroyed the ability of the citizenry to utilize the skills we once thought were inherently 'American'. Words like prudence and duty and all the old exhortations to get an education and work hard to build a better society have vanished like smoke.
Gonzalez, and Justice Thomas and Condi and Colin Powell should all be examples of how far we have come - Instead, they are warnings of how far we have fallen.
As for the Great White Race, it has degenerated into a bunch of half-dressed bimbos and a bunch of dissolute brain-damaged wealthy scions of prominent families who wander around looking confused.
Maybe it is the American Diet: other countries seem to be coping with peak-oil and global warming with a bit more class. Some even seem to be rising to the challenge of how to live with an 800 pound gorilla running around thinking it's god incarnate, as well as the "Last Super Power".
Mi Padre:
I have fine tuned the torture policy of Los Estados Unidos.
I purged the "Justice Department" of lying liberal traitors.
I lied so consistently and well to Congress that they gave up questioning me.
WTF have you done with your vida, hombre?
Tu Hijo,
Alfonso
I couldn't believe even Gonzo would make such an insulting remark about his father. Further evidence of what a creep he is. It's probably a blessing that his father isn't alive to witness his humiliation (which he deserves). I feel bad for the rest of his family though. On NPR someone made a snippy comment that he was the only one of the siblings to go to college. BFD! He ended up being the big loser in the family anyway.
So Speedy looks down his nose at his father? What a creepy little snob. Bet his father was more honest than his weasel son sell-out Albeartoe.
Gonzales makes the case for the "selfish gene." These types of person (didn't Colin Powell turn against Affirmative Action?) is all too willing to climb the ladder to secure his own ambitions, but then push that same ladder aside when others require it. It screams of the ugliest form of selfishness, and that is so against what the Masters have taught.
I love the phrase "Live the American Dream" Would someone remind me exactly what thast is? It seems to me that it used to be something like this. Decent housing, a car, enough money to care for your family and educate your children and perhaps, just perhaps, enough left over to take a vacation and prepare for retirement. I don't think this is what Gonzales was referring to, I think it is what his father lived.
"His problem, like most of the other loyal bushies, is that he never understood that his loyalty and his duty are to the country and its constitution, not to the neo-con political movement and its promoters."
It's my guess that he also lacked faith in the American Dream, because there seems to be so few entry ways into that sphere -- legitimately. However, had he had faith in his own father, his hard work and humble ways (from personal experience) he might not have looked down on him and looked to such a weakling big brother influence the likes of George W. Bush. Hispanic families beware:
The Cucuy is now the ne'r do well sons of the wealthy they may meet out in the great big world.
It's sad that there are several digs at Gonzales as a member of an immigrant family. Not appropriate, and not fair. His problem, like most of the other loyal bushies, is that he never understood that his loyalty and his duty are to the country and its constitution, not to the neo-con political movement and its promoters. We have the extreme case of the nit-wit lawyer from the right-wing religious school (something Thomas?) telling the investigating committee that she had taken an oath of allegiance to the president. Truly sad, how little civics they have grasped.
I bet Mr. Gonzales self-made worst day was better than the best day of the innocent people he has had tortured and imprisoned with no hope.
Did everyone notice that Bushes defense of Gonzales was the same as nut-jobs from Idaho? They are both innocent men that were convicted by the vicious rightwing press.
Mr. Hat Mr. Hat Mr. Hat is a very bad boy. Mr. hat is a very nasty and bad boy.
Thank you for your comments, chchicano.
Beginning in the 1990s, I began saying that "diversity" in America has come to mean that regardless of our own cultural/economic backgrounds, we should all aspire to and adopt the lifestyle and values of white suburbia, which are often psychologically as well as environmentally toxic.
For years, "internal divisions" have been blamed for the death of the civil-rights and women's-rights movements, but I believe the real culprit in both cases was honoring (and aspiring to) a corporatist worldview: many Americans without previous access to economic and social equality were so intent on "the prize" that they did not stop to question its value, nor whether the "contest" itself was worthy of their time and energy. In her book "My First White Friend," Afro-American writer Patricia Raybon describes traveling in the southern U.S. as a child shortly after desegregation. She and her family stopped at a roadside restaurant that had been "whites only" for ice cream, which turned out to be a bland, synthetic vanilla. If this was all Raybon's family (and other Afro-Americans) had been missing, they felt almost ashamed for wanting it. Substitute MBAs and BMWs for artificially-flavored vanilla ice cream, and you will summarize several American "success" stories.
Unfortunately, "successful" Americans (especially most American politicians) often trade real power for the appearance of power. Holding public office but refusing to act in the public interest (i.e. Bill Clinton) is merely the appearance of power. Belonging to a community while contributing positively to it is but one manifestation of real power.
Dear Mr. Gonzales: You have not lived the American dream, because the real American dream cannot be lived while destroying America.
I saw some of the announcement on the news. Did I just see/hear Alberto diss his dad?
Gonzales that little prick said he lived the American dream, when what he really did was help his smirking bully buddie try to destroy our constitution,said the Geneva Convention was quaint,spied on and listened to we the peoples phone calls and read our emails.That little piece of s--t should have to rot in prison.Anyone who gets to live the American dream should love this country and stand up for it. . Gonzales is a prime example of why we should close the Mexican border. We sure as hell don't need anymore of his kind in the United States.
Lezza Rice attended none of the "elite" schools mentioned. She graduated from the University of Denver, M.A. from Notre Dame, and PHd back in Denver. Not campuses to hobnob with upper crust legacies like you know who.
Favorite line that made me laugh for a full minute:
“Gonzales is the only Attorney General who thought the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth were three different things.â€
Want to say that this article is excellent Paul. Bien hecho!
Would like to add that Alberto Gonzales has it all wrong, seems AG's best day chumming with Bush was far worse than his dad's worst.
Also want to say that ChiChicano's observations about assimilation vs. aculturation are reflected in Juana Bordas' Salsa, Soul and Spirit. Very timely, indeed.
Finally, I want to say that it is funny how Karl Rove, the mastermind of all this dirty business that Alberto Gonzalez is said to have been involved in (I believe it!) was treated gingerly by the media and even given a platform to try to affect the Democratic nomination for president process with a prime time tv interview.
Gilberto August 28th, 2007 3:25 pm
"I once believed that academia was a criterion for honesty and that coming from poverty an education would make one a better “Human.†Alberto graduated Harvard, Condi from Stanford and the others are educated in what kind of knowledge?
They all act like many of the street thugs in the Bronx and Spanish Harlem where I once lived.."
I believe it was Timothy Leary who coined the phrase "educated savages" to describe these people.
It seems all the bushies have some sort of daddy issues.
Rubbing elbows with power and wealth is the primary advantage that attendence at an Ivy League University such as Stanford, Yale or Harvard affords. Had Alberto and Condi attended Jerkwater State University it is unlikely that they would have been adopted by the Bush Family.
There are several young people that I know who left the barrio and their working-class background and got an education at some prestigious university. Now they are back and live in fancy neighborhoods and look down on those of us who still live in the barrio. But even worse, they now believe that they know what is best for us. Instead of asking us how we would like to improve the neighborhood, they believe that their degrees in urban planning and sociology and business make them qualified to dictate to us what we "need." I blame this brainwashing on many of your universities, which don't provide a liberating education but an education that assimilates people and teaches them to hate their own culture. Education has become a way for minorities to (in the words of philosopher Paul K. Feyerabend) "participate in the white man's manias." Gonzales is the kind of Frankenstein monster that your educational system creates.
My favorite lines:
"All this came to my mind when I heard Attorney General Alberto Gonzales had decided to leave the office in order to spend more time with his family, as they say in Washington. The words “Alberto Gonzales resigned in protest after President Bush ordered him to do something Gonzales considered unethical†make up one of those sentences that could theoretically occur in the English language, but, like “Paris Hilton has been awarded the Nobel Prize in physics,†there was never any real prospect that someone would have occasion to utter it."
I laughed right out loud, something I almost never do when reading online.
Priceless!
Paul, Thank you
I once believe that academia was a criterion for honesty and that coming from poverty an education would make one a better "Human." Alberto graduated Harvard, Condi from Stanford and the others are educated in what kind of knowledge?
They all act like many of the street thugs in the Bronx and Spanish Harlem where I once lived...And many who worked very hard in factories, and sweat shops with little or no formal education were saints.
Turn it all upside down and witness our leaders of the strongest country in the world with the largest weapons of mass destruction in the hands of so little intelligence.
Homeboy,
Gilberto
The good news for Gonzo is that his acute amnesia should soon erase any memory of "bad" days...
"my favorite comment regarding Gonzo came from Rahm Emmanuel (not my favorite Rep. mind you): “Gonzales is the only Attorney General who thought the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth were three different things.â€"
LMAO! I'll give Rahm a pass on the next three idiotic things he'll say (because he will say them) in the next month . . .
This is a poignant (sp??) piece, but my favorite comment regarding Gonzo came from Rahm Emmanuel (not my favorite Rep. mind you): "Gonzales is the only Attorney General who thought the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth were three different things."
"Cox, who was the great-grandson of a secretary of state, and a direct descendent of a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was part of a ruling class that had run the country almost as a matter of birthright. Part of being a member of that class involved taking the idea of the rule of law very seriously."
Interesting... George Bush is a member of the same class as Cox. Bush has Mayflower ancestors, as well as a senator and US president as grandfather and father.
Our inbred and current two-family political system gave us the idiot son in George W.
what does bush know about an honest days work?
"I know nothing more about the man that that, but it seems he did an honest day’s work for a day’s pay, and that he found a way to put food on the table"
Or, as The Decider likes to say, "put food on his family."
"Cox, who was the great-grandson of a secretary of state, and a direct descendent of a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was part of a ruling class that had run the country almost as a matter of birthright. Part of being a member of that class involved taking the idea of the rule of law very seriously."
For those who accept the WASP myth of "taking the law seriously," Upton Sinclair's (NOT Sinclair Lewis') long-out-of-print novel "Boston", about the legal lynching of Sacco & Vanzetti, might provide an antidote.
how sad that gonzales found what he father did and was(?) so embarassing. the quote makes me wonder about the relationship george bush has with his father.
I just woke up from a nightmare!
Rove and Gonzalez as co-praetors(proconsuls a la Bremer) of Iran after our upcoming ’shock and awe’ pre-emptive strikes cripple the country’s infrastructure.
Torture boy was bad enough. Who or what could possibly be worse in Bush's war on Islam and American civil rights? Maybe someone with an Israeli Passport who penned the USA PATRIOT ACT? Languishing Katrina victims know who that might be. We must 'ADVISE' our senators not to confirm such a thing.