Irresponsible, not Incompetent

One of the buzz words Dick Cheney likes to throw around regarding Democrats is "irresponsible." Apparently after working in the Bush Administration Cheney has extensive first hand knowledge of what constitutes irresponsible actions.

Last week Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testified before Congress, or tried to, but unfortunately could remember little more than his name, saying some variation of "I don't recall" more than 70 times.

So what Bush's response? "The attorney general went up and gave a very candid assessment and answered every question he could possibly answer, in a way that increased my confidence in his ability to do the job," he said.

Previously White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Bush "was pleased with the attorney general's testimony" and continues to have "full confidence" in him while at the same time Republican Sen. Tom Coburn suggested Gonzales resign.

One of the common views of the testimony was that this was just another example of incompetence on the part of the Bush Administration, after all Gonzales, as the nation's Attorney General and leader of the Department of Justice, answered many questions with "I don't recall."

But in reality the key to this situation is Bush's statement that Gonzales answered the questions "in a way that increased my confidence in his ability to do the job." I.e. Gonzales did not answered the questions but gave the appearance that he didn't lie.

While people may think Gonzales came across as incompetent for not remembering basic facts, instead this is yet another example of irresponsibility on the part of the Bush Administration. Incompetence implies that a job failed because of a lack of ability. Irresponsible implies not being held accountable.

At the end of the day the administration got rid of the "Justice" Department Attorneys who weren't considered "loyal Bushies" and Gonzales will get to stay on. So outside of a little criticism for irresponsible action the Bushies will pay little or no penalty for their irresponsible actions. As the Washington Post wrote "the White House appears to have concluded that Gonzales has done nothing to merit firing."

Apparently loyalty trumps honesty, which is irresponsible.