Welcome to TBO.com. Skip directly to: our Keyword Search, Section Navigation, Content.

TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

TBO.com - Tampa Bay Online

Contributors:

Reporter William March has covered state and national politics since 1994. Email

Reporter Christian M. Wade has covered the City of Tampa since 2008. Email

Reporter Mike Salinero has covered Hillsborough County government for The Tampa Tribune since 2007. Email

Reporter Lindsay Peterson has been a general assignment reporter at the Tampa Tribune since 2005, focusing on higher education since 2009. Email

Florida Political Blogs:

More Resources:

Most Recent Entries

Monthly Archives

Fresh Squeezed Politics - March On Politics Blog

Congress Members And Presidential Candidates React On Gonzales

Posted Aug 27, 2007 by William March

Updated Aug 27, 2007 at 08:04 PM

In the wake of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’s resignation, Democrats said it was high time, and even Republicans made it clear they weren’t all that sorry to see him gone.

Some examples:

—Hillary Clinton, Democratic candidate: “This resignation is long overdue, and so is the appointment of an Attorney General who will put the rule of law and our Constitution above partisan politics. ... Time and time again, [Gonzales] demonstrated that his loyalties lie with the President and his political agenda, not the American people or the evenhanded and impartial enforcement of our laws ... from warantless wiretaps to the firing of U.S. Attorneys.

—The most concise reaction came from John Edwards: “Better late than never.”

Following the Bush press conference, Edwards expanded on that, saying Gonzales “oversaw a political purge of U.S. Attorneys at the Justice Department, approved torture techniques at Guantanamo Bay and approved illegal spying on Americans,” and his leaving “is a victory for all of us.”

—Barack Obama, Democratic candidate: “I have long believed that Alberto Gonzales subverted justice to promote a political agenda, and so I am pleased that he has finally resigned today. The President needs to nominate an Attorney General who will be the people’s lawyer, not the President’s lawyer, and in an Obama Administration that person will first and foremost defend and promote the rights and liberties enshrined in our Constitution.”

—Bill Richardson, Democratic candidate: “The resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is long overdue. The President must nominate an Attorney General who is a lawyer for the American people not a political arm of the White House.”

—Republican candidate Rudy Giuliani: “Judge Gonzales served his nation honorably and I wish him well in the next phase of his career.”

—Republican candidate Mitt Romney: “I believe the Attorney General made the right decision to step aside. The resignation is an opportunity for President Bush to renew the nation’s commitment to the law enforcement officers and personnel who are dedicated to enforcing the rule of law and protecting the American people from the threat of terrorism around the globe.”

—The most complimentary reaction, from U.S. Sen. Martinez, a Republican: Gonzales “is an honorable man,” he said, who “has conducted himself always with honesty, dedication and integrity. He is my friend and he is a good man. He and his family have my thanks for their sacrifice for serving during difficult times, and my best wishes for the future.”

—Republican U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam: “The Department of Justice now has the opportunity to benefit from fresh leadership. What the American people need right now is an effective, independent Attorney General who will be undistracted in his or her efforts to enforce our laws, secure our borders, and vigorously prosecute the war against militant Islamist jihadists.”

Putnam said the new attorney general needs the “necessary credibility on Capitol Hill” to work on the intelligence and electronic surveillance issues before Congress, and added, “It is incumbent upon both the new Attorney General and Congressional Democrat leaders to put an end to the politicization of the Justice Department.”

—Republican U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis: “The departure of Attorney General Gonzales will allow the Justice Department to move beyond the distractions faced under his leadership.

“The Justice Department is vital to our nation’s safety and security. Today’s announcement has created an opportunity for new leadership to embrace a refocused and bipartisan agenda.”

—U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat and member of the Senate intelligence, foreign relations and armed services committees: “We have an urgent need to restore credibility at the Justice Department. My hope is President Bush’s new pick will take politics out of enforcing the law.”

—Tampa Democratic Rep. Kathy Castor: “His resignation is long overdue. The Justice Department is supposed to be blind to political influence, but under Gonzales and Karl Rove, they’ve politicized the department. His departure should bring back public confidence in that agency.”

(1) Read Comments