Letter: Bush refuses to see bipartisan reality

Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007 | 7:21 a.m.

"It's sad," President Bush said, "that we live in a time when a talented and honorable person like Alberto Gonzales is impeded from doing important work because his good name was dragged through the mud for political reasons."

As is often the case with what our president says, certain things need clarification. It was, after all, Sen. Arlen Specter who said Gonzales "was not credible," Sen. John Cornyn who called his testimony "deplorable," Sen. Chuck Grassley who accused him of changing his story, and Sen. Norm Coleman among many who demanded his resignation.

Noting that all of these senators are Republican, the president should have accepted Gonzales' departure as the culmination of bipartisan disgust with Gonzales' disgraceful performance as attorney general rather than as being for "political reasons." Because the president sees no wrong in Gonzales' testimony during recent Senate hearings and during his tenure as attorney general , you have to wonder whether the president can any longer recognize reality from within his presidential cocoon.

This president doesn't believe in contrition or accountability. He believes in his ability to say black is white and to insist on it with conviction while hoping that people will believe him. It is obviously a trait Bush values in his subordinates.

Phil Ventura, Las Vegas