“I have long believed that Alberto Gonzales subverted justice to promote a political agenda, and so I am pleased that he has finally resigned today. The President needs to nominate an Attorney General who will be the people’s lawyer, not the President’s lawyer, and in an Obama Administration that person will first and foremost defend and promote the rights and liberties enshrined in our Constitution.” - Barack Obama

“Better late than never.” - John Edwards

“Long overdue. The president must nominate an attorney general who is a lawyer for the American people, not a political arm of the White House.” — New Mexico governor Bill Richardson.

I am by no means surprised that the embattled Attorney General has stepped down, I am surprised that it has taken so long.

Politically speaking and in my opinion, keeping him on this long, allowing him to go to Capitol Hill and contradict his own testimony so many times and allowing so many others to go to the Hill and contradict testimony so many times, was an insane move by the Bush administration.

There was no way he was going to be able to stay and be effective. That much was clear months ago. Keeping him in the cabinet all but assured little if nothing in the way of policy was going to be accomplished by a president who was not only a lame-duck but was facing an insurgency from within his own party. To the public, who probably followed this whole affair with disinterest, it did accomplish one task. It heaped another layer to the sense of “corruption, ineffectiveness, divisiveness and self-interest” that has filled the White House.

What implication will this have for 2008? Firstly it will help play into the overall theme of a “need for change”. Secondly a lot of that will depend on the person President Bush decides to send in his place. Whomever that is they will need to be confirmed by a Democratic Congress, Several of whom are running for president and will use these hearings as a chance to flex muscle and score points. If it is a divisive nominee the process will also be used against those Republicans running for re-election or the presidency in order to pin the labels mentioned above to their campaigns.

There are lots of rumors and the president is set to make an announcement soon, so I won’t go too much into the speculating until then. Lets just say that in a VERY dull summer, things are heating up.

“I would say the risks of recession are now greater than they’ve been any time since the period in the aftermath of 9/11.” - Former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers

I have been harping on the idea that the two major republicans issues in 2008 will be taxes and terror. It also is starting to appear that the economy as a whole with the word “recession” looming will play a large role in the election. President Bill Clinton’s 1992 mantra “Its the economy, stupid” looks like it could well apply again. It also could be a repeat of 2000 when Bush/Cheney talked down the economy and called for tax cuts to avoid an incoming recession while painting Gore as the candidate who would raise taxes and spur an economic downturn.

So who wins and who loses if the economy is the #1 issue?

Senator Barack Obama outlined how he would help rebuild New Orleans. From the Senators Web site here is his point by point plan:

- Ensuring the FEMA Director reports directly to President Obama, serves a fixed six-year term so he or she is insulated from political pressure, and has professional emergency management experience.

- Developing the health care infrastructure by building new facilities and providing incentives like loan forgiveness to attract more medical professionals back to New Orleans.

- Creating a special “COPS for Katrina” program to empower communities to hire local enforcement personnel, as well as helping local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies establish an integrated regional crime control partnership.

- Rebuilding schools and assisting communities in the Gulf Coast to make necessary infrastructure investments so kids from all backgrounds have safe and supportive environments to learn. Creating a loan forgiveness program to bring college students back to New Orleans.

- Developing transit partnerships to ensure public transit is integrated across New Orleans’ parish lines and a possible rail line connecting New Orleans with Baton Rouge.

- Ensuring that every displaced resident has a home to return to, by strengthening the Road Home Program, working with the state to guarantee that every application for housing assistance will be approved no later than two months after it is received, and increasing the supply of rental property.

- Rebuilding the local economy, both by fighting to ensure more local residents direct and implement Katrina-related recovery and reconstruction activities, as well as targeting tax incentives to lure businesses to the hardest hit areas of the Gulf Coast.

- Working with emergency management officials, emergency responders and other experts from all 50 states to create a real National Response Plan, which will ensure we have fully-trained and prepared personnel to respond to disasters across the United States.

- Creating a National Catastrophe Insurance Reserve, which will save homeowners $11.6 billion on annual insurance premiums.

- Ensuring that New Orleans has a levee and pumping system to protect the city from a Category 5 storm.

“Part of the problem, I’ll be honest with you, I just don’t think there is a sense of urgency in the White House, where the president is cracking the whip, day in, day out, and saying, ‘Why is it that we’re not getting this done?’”

- Was Warner’s call the other day for the president to send a signal to the Iraqi government by pulling out a small band of troops the Senator’s first step in backing a full pullout? On Meet The Press this morning Warner said he might support a bill in the Senate for a full troop withdrawl.

- This week Senator Hillary Clinton called for the ouster of Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki who has now responded directly saying Clinton & Senator Carl Levin saying “There are American officials who consider Iraq as if it were one of their villages, for example Hillary Clinton and Carl Levin. They should come to their senses”.

- From the Associated Press: ” A call by Puerto Rico’s governor for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq earned a standing ovation from a conference of more than 4,000 National Guardsmen.

Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila said Saturday that the U.S. administration has “no new strategy and no signs of success” and that prolonging the war would needlessly put guardsmen in harm’s way. “