[Peace-discuss] Obama on Gonzales

[C. G. Estabrook]

[Like all but six of the Senate Democrats, Barack Obama voted this week
against Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General (although he had voted twice
to confirm Rice as SOS).  But his rather self-congratulatory remarks on
Gonzales don't go far in reassuring those of us who doubt his politics.  
It's appalling that we're relieved that he actually came out against
torture.  And in doing so he echoes administration boilerplate -- "...the
seeds of democracy began to take root in Iraq..."; "...we are engaged in a
deadly global struggle with those who would intimidate, torture, and
murder people for exercising the most basic freedoms..."; etc. --CGE]


	Floor Statement from Senator Barack Obama on the Nomination 
	of Alberto Gonzales for Attorney General
	Thursday, February 3, 2005
	Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

A few days ago, the world watched as the seeds of democracy began to take
root in Iraq. As a result of the sheer courage of the Iraqi people and the
untold sacrifices of American soldiers, the success of the elections
showed just how far people will go to achieve self-government and rule of
law.

As Americans, we can take pride in the fact that this kind of courage has
been inspired by our own struggle for freedom...by the tradition of
democratic law secured by our forefathers and enshrined in our
Constitution.

It's a tradition that says all men are created equal under the law - and
that no one is above it.

That's why, even within the Executive Branch, there is an office dedicated
to enforcing the laws of the land and applying them to people and
Presidents alike.

In this sense, the Attorney General is not like the other Cabinet posts.
Unlike the Secretary of State, who is the public face of the President's
foreign policy, or the Secretary of Education, whose job it is to carry
out the President's education policy, the Attorney General's job is not
just to enforce the President's laws. It is to tell the President what the
law is. The job is not simply to facilitate the President's power, it is
to speak truth to that power as well.

The job is to protect and defend the laws and the freedoms for which so
many have sacrificed so much.

The President is not the Attorney General's client - the people are. And
so the true test of an Attorney General nominee is whether that person is
ready to put the Constitution of the people before the political agenda of
the President. As such, I cannot approach this nomination the same way I
approached that of Secretary of State Rice or VA Secretary Nicholson or
any other Cabinet position. The standard is simply higher.
 
I wanted to give Alberto Gonzales the benefit of the doubt when we began
this process. His story is inspiring - especially for so many of us who
have shared in achieving his American Dream. And I have no question that,
as White House counsel, he has served his President and his country to the
best of his ability. But, in my judgment, these positive qualities alone
are not sufficient to warrant confirmation as the top law enforcement
officer in the land.

I had hoped that during his hearings Judge Gonzales would ease my concerns
about some of the legal advice he gave to the President. And I had hoped
he would prove that he has the ability to distance himself from his role
as the President's lawyer so that he could perform his new role as the
people's lawyer.

Sadly, rather than full explanations during these hearings, I heard
equivocation. Rather than independence, I heard an unyielding insistence
on protecting the President's prerogative.

I did not hear Mr. Gonzales repudiate two and a half years of official
U.S. policy which has defined torture so narrowly that only organ failure
and death would qualify. A policy that he himself appears to have helped
develop the dubious legal rationale for. Imagine that. If the entire world
accepted the definition contained in the Department of Justice memos, we
can only imagine what atrocities might befall our American POWs. How, in a
world without such basic constraints would we feel about sending our sons
and daughters to war? How, if we are willing to rationalize torture
through legalisms and semantics, can we claim to our children, and the
children of the world, that America is different, and represents a higher
moral standard?

This policy isn't just a moral failure, it's a violation of half a century
of international law. Yet while Mr. Gonzales' job was White House Counsel,
he said nothing to the President.

He showed no ability to speak with responsible moral clarity then, and
he's indicated that he still has no intention to speak such truths now.
During his recent testimony, he refused to refute a conclusion of the
torture memo which stated that the President has the power to override our
laws when acting as Commander-in-Chief. Think about that -- the nation's
top law enforcement officer telling its most powerful citizen that if the
situation warrants, he can break the law from time to time.

The truth is, Mr. Gonzales has raised serious doubts about whether, given
the choice between the Constitution and the President's political agenda,
he would put our Constitution first. And that is why I simply cannot
support his nomination for Attorney General.

I understand that Judge Gonzales will most likely be confirmed anyway, and
I look forward to working together with him in that new role. But I also
hope that once in office, he'll take the lessons of this debate to heart.

You know, before serving in this distinguished body, I had the privilege
of teaching law for ten years at the University of Chicago. And among the
brilliant minds to leave that institution for government service was a
former Dean of the Law School named Edward Levi. A man of impeccable
integrity who was committed to the rule of law before politics, Levi was
chosen by President Ford to serve as Attorney General in the wake of
Watergate. The President courageously chose to appoint him not because
Dean Levi was a yes man, not because he was a loyal political soldier, but
so that he could restore the public's confidence in a badly damaged
Justice Department - so that he could restore the public's trust in the
ability of our leaders to follow the law.

While he has raised serious doubts about his ability to follow this
example, Judge Gonzales can still choose to restore our trust. He can
still choose to put the Constitution first. I hope for our country's sake,
he will. To start with, he should take these three steps upon assuming his
new role:

	1. He can immediately repudiate the terror memos and ensure that
the Department of Defense is not using any of its recommendations to craft
interrogation policy.
	2. He can restore the credibility of his former position as Legal
Counsel by appointing an independent-minded, universally respected lawyer
to the post.
	3. And he can provide Congress regular, detailed reports on his
efforts to live up to the President's stated zero-tolerance policy toward
torture.

Today, we are engaged in a deadly global struggle with those who would
intimidate, torture, and murder people for exercising the most basic
freedoms. If we are to win this struggle and spread those freedoms, we
must keep our own moral compass pointed in a true direction. The Attorney
General is one figure charged with doing this, but to do it well he must
demonstrate a higher loyalty than to just the President. He must
demonstrate a loyalty to the ideals that continue to inspire a nation, and
hopefully, the world.

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