Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales met with senior aides on Nov. 27 to review a plan to fire a group of US attorneys, according to new documents released last night, a disclosure that contradicts Gonzales's previous statement that he was not involved in "any discussions" about the dismissals. —Dan Eggen writing in "Documents link Gonzales, firings"

Mexicans have a far better chance of making it across the Rio Grande than Alberto Gonzales has of remaining in the Office of Attorney General. That was made perfectly clear early in the week when official Deputy White House Liar Dana Perino announced that Bush had called Gonzales in a show of support—

"... the president reaffirmed his strong backing of the attorney general," said spokeswoman Dana Perino. Reports that Bush is looking for a replacement of the attorney general are "just flat false," White House spokesman Tony Snow told reporters. "The White House is not calling for the ouster of anybody."

Richard Wolffe and Holly Bailey put it more strongly—

... just minutes after arriving at the Oval Office for his usual round of morning briefings, [Bush] placed a call to Gonzales, his old friend from Texas, to let the attorney general know that his job was not on the line.

If Gonzales has any sense at all, he'll be staying up late at night to attend to some important business in the shredder room.

Even as Perino and Snow were presenting their fabrications, Mike Allen at The Politico was examining the list of possible replacements—a list that apparently came straight from the White House.1

The names on Allen's list include—

• Former Missouri Senator and Episcopal priest John Danforth
• Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff
• White House anti-terrorism coordinator Frances Townsend
• Securities and Exchange Committee Chairman Chris Cox
• Former Attorney General William P. Barr
• Former Sen. from Tennessee Fred Thompson of "Law & Order"
• Former Solicitor General Ted Olson
• Former Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson
• Senior status federal judge Laurence H. Silberman
• Former Deputy Attorney General George J. Terwilliger III

I won't go into who these men are, since you might grow faint. Suffice it to say that ex-Sen. John Danforth is about the best looking on the list because of his voluble criticism of the Religious Right. And since Danforth supported Clarence Thomas' nomination to the Supreme Court even after Thomas' predilection for the films of Long Dong Silver was revealed, I believe him.

Despite the long list of names, there may be less choice than meets the eye. Joining the Bush administration is beginning to lose its appeal—

"I think it is going to come down to who is willing to take the job," said an official close to the process.

Tags: * Alberto Gonzales Gonzales Attorney General OAG Justice Department DOJ replacement nominee Bush administration Danforth