This is great

Who wouldn't have loved to get the questions in advance before taking a test or being interviewed? The results would be a slam dunk, right?? Well, we'll just see how well Gonzales does this time around:

Via Bob Geiger writing at The Huffington Post:

Leahy, the [Senate Judiciary] committee's Chairman, sent a letter to Gonzales on July 17 pointing out the number of times the embattled Attorney General said he could "not recall" in response to previous direct questioning on his department's operations and saying that he "would like to avoid a repeat of that performance."

So Leahy sent questions in advance hoping to give Gonzales a week to think about some better responses to the questions surrounding the U.S. Attorney firings, National Security Letter abuses and the White House's warrantless domestic spying program.

Graphically speaking...

Via Slate.com, Dahlia Lithwick reported on the Alberto Gonzales testimony:

One of the finest moments comes when Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., busts out a big, big chart. Which happens after almost everyone has gone home. The chart compares the Clinton protocol for appropriate contacts between the White House and the DoJ on pending criminal cases with the Bush protocol. According to Whitehouse, the Clinton protocol authorized just four folks at the White House to chat with three folks at Justice. The chart had four boxes talking to three boxes.

Out comes the Bush protocol, and now 417 different people at the White House have contacts about pending criminal cases with 30-some people at Justice. You can just see zillions of small boxes nattering back and forth. It seems that just about everyone in the White House, including the guys in the mailroom, had a vote on ongoing criminal matters.

Sen. Pat Leahy, D-Vt., calls this "the most astounding thing" he's seen in 32 years.

If I find a graphic of that chart, I'll post it!

UPDATE: You can watch the exchange, and sort of see the graphics, at ThinkProgress.

Is he not embarassed?

At my job - I'd be embarassed to say that I didn't know what my staff was doing, or why I made big decisions...but Alberto Gonzales got up there and said he didn't know, or couldn't remember, why decisions were made at the U.S. Justice Department.

Amazing!!

Will he stay, or will he go?

I just don't know...

Yes, it will be better for the country.

Yes, it will make the Democrats happy.

But, he provides a great shield to the President. Who will Bush hide behind next if Gonzales goes?