Gonzales resignation should have happened sooner

John Edwards said it best. "Better late than never."

It's true that Edwards and the rest of the pack of Democrats running for president won't have Alberto Gonzales to kick around anymore. But if it still means anything to be the nation's top law enforcer, it should have been ex-Attorney General Gonzales a long time ago. Gonzales should have been gone as soon as it became clear he could not tell the truth about the firings of 8 U.S. attorneys.

Thousands of documents released by the Justice Department showed that White House officials, including Karl Rove, wanted to replace prosecutors. At one point, there was a suggestion all 93 prosecutors should be replaced. In December 2006, 8 were ordered to resign.

Gonzales could have withstood the charges that the firings were politically motivated. It wouldn't be the first time competent people lost their jobs for political reasons and it won't be the last .

What did him in - as it should - were charges of evasive and dishonest testimony . When he went before Congress, Gonzales answered, "I don't know" and "I can't recall" scores of times. He and other Justice Department officials were never able to fully explain what happened without contradicting each other.

With his power ebbing and his credibility erased, Gonzales clung to the position he won through loyalty to George W. Bush. And Bush stood by Gonzales, giving the country yet another example of his misguided sense of loyalty.

This president's loyalty is not to the truth nor to his fellow Americans. It is first to the fellows he calls friends.

Joan Vennochi's e-mail address is vennochi@globe.com.