W's Turd Blossoms

MLW proposed a discussion of Alberto Gonzales in an earlier post. Here's my take on the AG. But first, a little presidential trivia. Bush is known to have a nickname for everyone and one of his terms of endearment for Karl Rove is "Turd Blossom", which--according to the Texas Standard English Dictionary (W has the only existing copy. . .)--is a flower that grows from a pile of cow manure. Now if you think about it, every elected leader or private CEO has, or needs, a turd blossom. There's always that loyalist who is eager to be the political heavyweight, willing to get down and dirty to further the interests of the "ruling party" and its leaders. I'll bet as you read this, you're thinking about the managers and bosses you've had and can immediately put a face and name to this turd blossom job title! I'm getting heartburn just remembering all the TBs I've had to work with or around both in state government and the private sector! My question is: exactly how many TBs does W need? Let's give him Karl Rove, but declare the Attorney General off limits.

The problem with Gonzales, in my view, is that he's supposed to be the U.S. Attorney General, responsible for protecting the constitutional rights of all Americans. But, so long as his priorities are to be Bush's--and the current administration's--"yes" man(i.e., turd blossom), then the rest of us are out of luck. If you're Jack/Jill Citizen, your rights to protection under the law may come in second with the current Justice Department. And, then there's the other major issue: the hiring and firing of career employees, such as with the eight U.S. attorneys, who have to pass a political party litmus test. That's wrong in Washington and in Kentucky where the employee merit system is supposed to provide a threat-free environment where people can do their government service jobs without fear of tangling with a turd blossom!