With ballot boxes barely cold, an electoral controversy snowed under like Nome on New Year's Day, George W. Bush has already gone to great lengths in reinventing his cabinet. For one who has been constantly painted as a master of presentation and power over substance, Bush's second term reflects a different, perhaps more nefarious preoccupation: loyalty over discourse.

One needn't look much further than media darling Condoleeza Rice to realize that the Bush administration values what might be cynically called "a good old boy" network where years of assenting, "don't ask questions" public service has great rewards. Rice is qualified for her post but she is precisely the type of pleasing politico that should have the public quivering.

This good old boy network runs much deeper than Rice though. On November 11th, just 9 days post election chaos, concession and calls for union, Bush tapped White House counsel and former Texas confidant Alberto Gonzales for Attorney General. We are barely two weeks in and Rice and Gonzales clearly state that Bush hasn't entirely sated his appetite for appearance. Both loyal appointees are painted as intellectual and moderate and both are minorities, cruel irony considering how far both of these people will go in terrorizing people of color the world over. An examination of Gonzales' record show not only a quiet man's life spent in dumb allegiance, but a man dangerous to minorities both international and domestic. The spin given by the mainstream press to the American people is almost insultingly simple: he is the first Hispanic in such a preeminent position and his humble upbringing is fodder for Today.

Of course, it is the long standing ties to a compassionate conservative trying to hem our great cultural divide that made him the ideal choice. Here is a short list of key facts on Alberto Gonzales to consider:

• Gonzales has had only two superiors since passing the bar, Vinson and Elkins Real Property Section as a transactional lawyer and George Bush, who hasn't shied away from the notion that Gonzales has been "groomed" for this job. As a transactional lawyer he did deals for corporate clients, a limiting experience at best.

• As a "minority" Gonzales is quite literally a danger to his own people, refusing to honor Vienna Convention (internationally recognized statutes regulating treatment of citizens abroad, often cited by American dignitaries) regulations in executing Mexican Citizens.

• George Bush executed more persons while Governor of Texas than anyone else in modern American history (150 men and two women). In large part it was Gonzales who informed then Governor Bush about those on death row, giving him any facts that might make them pardonable, such as ineffective counsel, mitigating evidence, as far forward as innocence. When journalist Alan Berlow of Slate and Atlantic Monthly sued to release the record of the Bush/Gonzales memoranda regarding execution, it was found that Bush acted on only the most cursory information because it was all that his subservient provided. In most instances Gonzales failed to give his boss the full dossier of information pertinent to the case, and many of those died without appeal.

• Gonzales has his hands filthy in the prisoner abuse scandal in Abu Ghrahib prison. In January 2002 he wrote a 4 page memo justifying the suspension of Geneva Accords, arguably the backbone of rules for international war. Most notable from that memo is when Gonzales, already dubious for his role reporting facts to Bush, cited the President's "War on Terror" redefinition of war. On this strength, Bush moved to override Colin Powell's suggestion to extend the Geneva to American prisoners in Guantanamo. The interrogation techniques outlined in this memo quickly translated from theory in Guantanamo Cuba to the photographs all of America saw of Abu Ghrahib. It was Gonzales' reporting that should be viewed as precedent and prime enabler for those ugly displays of manipulation.

• Why were records from Vice President Dick Cheney's 2001 meetings with energy company leaders kept secret in spite of attempts from industry and private groups to view them? Gonzales, that's why. He is of the strong belief that the White House needs to maintain its ability to obtain and disseminate information privately, or conduct business outside the view of their employers.

• While working for the Bush family, Gonzales went so far as to hide documents at the family home to keep them out of public scrutiny, all the while touting the need for media rights in the state's Supreme Court.

It is always worth sowing some seeds of optimism: previous behavior is not the dead solid predictor of what the future might hold. To his credit, Gonzales, while a member of the Texas Supreme Court, went above Right Wing Christian expectation in 2000 and supported a minor's right to an abortion in extenuating, abusive circumstances. As Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales might just become a luminary figure of American Justice and set new precedent for compassionate and fair service to his country. He might and it is OK to hope, but it stands to reason that if there were real cause of optimism of such a turn, then "President" George W. Bush, further adrift on the wings of Evangelic power, would have never nominated him in the first place.

Facts are, Gonzales' career is being made as an instrument of George Bush's loyalty machine and will in all likelihood take a similar drift. George Sr. made the mistake of nominating David Souter in 1990, someone who was thought to serve conservative ideals and eventually turned liberal. With Rove and cohorts looking over his shoulder, the sin of the father won't be repeated by the son. In years to come, the American left may be pining for the days of "Let the Eagle Soar" and statues, whose robes blow stiffly in the breeze.

(C) 2004 - Erick Mertz