Editorial: Silent John speaks

Thursday, Aug. 30, 2007 | 8:12 a.m.

For months while his colleagues called for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to resign, Sen. John Ensign held his tongue.

But now that Gonzales has resigned, Silent John has quite a lot to say.

In an interview with Las Vegas Sun columnist Jon Ralston, Ensign said Gonzales served "incredibly poorly."

"It was a dereliction of his duties," Ensign said of Gonzales' performance. The Nevada Republican added that Gonzales' testimony before Congress, which included contradictions, denials and convenient memory loss, was "a complete debacle."

Did he just come to that conclusion? Where has Ensign been?

As Gonzales presided over the Justice Department, morale plummeted. He turned over the reins to political hacks, who based nearly everything - including prosecutions - on party affiliation. Calls for Gonzales' resignation received bipartisan support, including from every member of Nevada's congressional delegation - excluding Ensign.

Ensign told Ralston that his silence was based in an effort to get more resources for the U.S. attorney's office in Nevada.

"If I just called for his resignation, that doesn't get us extra resources," Ensign said. "It would be better for us politically if I did that."

That, however, makes no sense considering that, as any graduate of Civics 101 knows, Congress sets the budget. The answer to why he did not air his views must be in his sense of doing the "politically" right thing, which had nothing to do with prosecutorial resources.

As head of the effort to elect Republicans to the Senate, Ensign has bowed to the White House and party operatives who don't want bad news spread about the GOP. Thus the self-induced laryngitis.

Hearing the strong views he now has about Gonzales makes us wonder about what Ensign thinks on other subjects, such as the war in Iraq. When he speaks, is he airing his mind or regurgitating GOP talking points?

Ensign shouldn't hold back his views on such matters. Nevadans deserve his open and honest opinions. He was, after all, elected to the Senate, not to a political committee.