Alberto Gonzales is Sorry — Really
[Editor’s Note: This post was written by Carlo Taboada is a second year law student at Texas Tech University. He recently attended a lecture by former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.]
When you’re in D.C., lots of people write lots of things about you, some of them true, but most of them not. So were the wise words that opened a fifty minute long speech by former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. I took a few minutes out of my day November 18th to go see Gonzales because I thought it would be interesting to hear what the man had to say.
When I sat down I was ready to hate on the man, to hold him accountable for his misdeeds, and generally give him heck (albeit in my mind). Instead, I was warmed to hear Gonzales recount his life story of an impoverished child who would rise to become the first Latino attorney general in the United States.
He told us what it felt like to bring his mother to Washington, D.C. and how much it warmed his heart that she got up early to make breakfast for him — just as she had for his father for so many years. He recounted what it felt like to take his mother to the White House and how proud he was of his family in those moments.
What he did not say was “sorry” or “I messed up.” That was never a topic of conversation. When asked about serving on the Texas Supreme Court, Gonzales dodged the question again by throwing in anecdotes about the good ol’ days (the 1990s) with then-Governor George W. Bush. After Bush asked him about potentially serving on the Supreme Court, the ever humble Gonzales admitted that he might not have been, well, ready.
That was a really telling statement. Here’s this powerful former Bush White House official who couldn’t find a job after resigning from his post, years later, still telling the same stories about his humble upbringing. It seemed like throughout Gonzales’ lecture, he wasn’t trying to share information with us, but convince us that he wasn’t all that bad. His entire lecture seemed like a cleanup job. The only stable employment he’s been able to get since leaving the White House is a gig at Texas Tech where he probably gets paid tons of money simply to teach one political science class and work to recruit/retain “first generation and underrepresented students.” Then, there are the occasional lectures like the one I went to.
I walked out of that lecture feeling like, maybe Gonzales deserves a second chance in the court of public opinion, after all, he was the fall guy for that whole Geneva Convention being “quaint” and “obsolete” thing. Oh, and let’s not forget the Abu Ghraib fiasco that brought down fellow Hispanic leader Lt. General Ricardo Sánchez.
But, in the end, I think Gonzales wasn’t ready for a lot of things. He certainly wasn’t ready for the attorney general spot (at least that’s the impression I got) and I don’t think he was ready to take the fall for the Bush Administration, either. So, now, despite his distinguished credentials, he’s at Texas Tech with the rest of us. And although some might see that as a down grade for a former U.S. Attorney General, I say Gonzales should consider himself lucky. At least some people around here still have some respect for him.
