This possibility came to me while watching Sen. Specter on MTP talking about coming back from easter "recess"...
As we've already seen scores of times, as with Judges Pryor and Pickering, as well as our favorite mustachioed villain and amateur architectural critic John Bolton, Bush has had no qualms about using his presidential privilege of Recess Appointments.
One scenario that might play out is Gonzo resigns during this, or more likely, a subsequent recess (depending on how long the Administration thinks they can stall), and the President appoints a new "loyal bushie", bypassing congress' advise and consent hurdles.
The conservatives will all rush to W's defense, claiming with ironic glee that Clinton did it with Bill Lan Lee when the AAG for Civil Rights post was vacant. (Don't you just love it when conservatives, who painted Bush in 2000 as a savior of integrity compared to the "evil Bubba" constantly point to Clinton's policies when defending their position... makes me want to take another shower...)
They will also be happy to have a clean slate, but with a uber-conservative loyalist that might never get through the confirmation process. Bush's numbers are already in the toilet, I doubt the few dozen percentage points he's got left will come away from a Recess Appointment negatively.
I'm convinced this is a very possible, if not likely, scenario. The question is, what can we do about it?