Bring Me the Head of Alberto Gonzales

The attorney general of the United States is going out the door and I can't really better the Fark headline:

White House officials say Attorney General Gonzales has submitted his letter of resignation. However Gonzales says he can't recalling writing any such letter, or his reasons for taking such an action.

Bit inaccurate, though: Gonzales made a phone call, not a Dear John letter.

Mr. Gonzales, who had rebuffed calls for his resignation, submitted his to President Bush by telephone on Friday, the official said. His decision was not immediately announced, the official added, until after the president invited him and his wife to lunch at his ranch near here.

Mr. Bush has not yet chosen a replacement but will not leave the position open long, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the resignation had not yet been made public.

There were two big theories about how the Bush administration would operate when the Democrats took over Congress. One optimistic theory was that the White House would recover its cojones and do righteous battle with the opposition. That hasn't really happened, except on Iraq. The other theory, that the administration would sort of crumble and fade under pressure, is looking more solid.

Earlier this year I saluted Gonzales for making the "chicken little" critics of White House power look so wise.