The latest out of touch, fringe-dwelling loons to hop aboard the dump Gonzales bandwagon is that bastion of socialist propaganda, the National Review. [For those of you who don’t know the National Review, I was being facetious. They are caveman right wingers]

Despite their place on the political spectrum, they actually provide some of the best reasons for setting the Attorney General adrift. They point out that Democrats might eventually uncover evidence of real wrongdoing. They fret that, “he was either deceptive or inexcusably detached from the operations of his own department.” They are critical of his blaming his staff for misconduct that he concedes has occurred. And they allege that his position is hanging by a thread of concern that Democrats will exploit his ouster to for political gain. All of those points are true. But here is the part I find most interesting:

“While we defended him from some of the outlandish charges made during his confirmation hearings, we have never seen evidence that he has a fine legal mind, good judgment, or managerial ability.”

Somebody pinch me. Did the editors of the National Review just admit that, although they never saw evidence of “a fine legal mind, good judgment, or managerial ability,” they still defended him during the hearings to confirm his as Attorney General? What on earth was the basis for their support? Did he make a mean margarita? Did he offer free legal advice? Or were they just sucking up to an administration that was accustomed to having its people and proposals rubberstamped by a compliant media and Congress?

What should we take from this admission going forward? Obviously, the National Review doesn’t believe that intelligence and experience are prerequisites for service in the President’s cabinet. And if agency heads are held to such low standards, then where is the bar for under-secretaries, ambassadors, or judges? I think it’s clear that, after this, anyone looking to the National Review for endorsements has to concede that they are not interested in a nominee’s competence or qualifications. The National Review has forfeited all credibility in that regard.

However, I will gladly accept their opinion that Gonzales must go, because, in the realm of the inadequate, the National Review is unsurpassed.