There is an article in a major newspaper (WaPo) that states, very clearly, that Alberto Gonzales, the Attorney General of the United States of America, has to spend three, count them, three days in preparation to simply appear in front of Congress and tell the truth.
This is bizzaro world within a bizzaro world.
More.....
Here's the WaPo article.
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales has retreated from public view this week in an intensive effort to save his job, spending hours practicing testimony and phoning lawmakers for support in preparation for pivotal appearances in the Senate this month, according to administration officials.
--snip--
Ed Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman, and Timothy E. Flanigan, who worked for Gonzales at the White House, have met with the attorney general to plot strategy. The department has scheduled three days of rigorous mock testimony sessions next week and Gonzales has placed phone calls to more than a dozen GOP lawmakers seeking support, officials said.
(Emphasis mine)
This is Bush World at its most absurd. The only preparation he has to make is to get a good night's sleep, then enter the chamber, take an oath, and tell the frickin'truth. How hard is that?
This article...and read the whole thing...is the most damning piece of information about how the entire political game in the White House has been turned on its head. A total admission that spin and obfuscation is the rule of thumb...and check this out!!!!
"We are hampered because some senior officials are not able to discuss the facts as they know them in the same room, for fears of additional accusations of misleading Congress," said one Justice official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
(Emphasis mine)
Meaning we can't get in the same room and compare lies!
And Whaaaaaaaat?
"It just compounds the difficulty facing any witness in this situation," Coats said. "You don't have the ability to coordinate with other organizations or individuals that are going to be testifying, and there will be a lot of people looking for inconsistencies. It is no small challenge for the attorney general."
(Emphasis mine)
Right. Telling the truth seems to be no small challenge for the attorney general. Good God.
And in a related matter noted at the end of the article, Monica Goodling's attorneys have decided to attack when it comes to her testimony...
Leahy and Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, have questioned whether Goodling is attempting to hide criminal activity by refusing to answer questions.
Goodling's attorneys, John M. Dowd and Jeffrey King, responded in a letter yesterday that such allegations "are unfortunately reminiscent of Senator Joseph McCarthy, who infamously labeled those who asserted their constitutional right to remain silent before his committee 'Fifth Amendment Communists.' "
McCarthy. I can't believe they brought up McCarthy. Absurd. Just absurd.