Alberto Gonzales gets Joementum

Published February 3, 2005 10:24PM (EST)

Maybe our eyes were deceiving us, but it sure looked like George Bush gave Joe Lieberman a kiss on his way out of the House chamber Wednesday night. And why not? Lieberman may be a Democrat, but he's one of just six members of his party who crossed over today to vote in favor of Alberto Gonzales' nomination as attorney general.

Gonzales got through the Senate 60-36, with all the "no" votes coming from Democrats. In case you're keeping track at home, the other Democrats who voted in favor of Gonzales were Mary Landrieu, Ben Nelson, Bill Nelson, Mark Pryor and Ken Salazar.

John Kerry, who voted against Gonzales' confirmation, issued a statement today in which he said that Gonzales' legal advice on the Geneva Conventions and other matters had "opened a Pandora's Box that has tarred America's image in the world and placed our troops at even greater risk." Maybe his colleague from Connecticut was too busy swooning to hear the news.


By Tim Grieve

Tim Grieve is a senior writer and the author of Salon's War Room blog.

MORE FROM Tim Grieve


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

War Room