Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales Can’t Find A Job

Once he was the nation’s Attorney General, appointed — and constantly protected and defended by — President George Bush. But he is considered by some to have been one of the worst Attorney Generals in recent history — and now Alberto Gonzales is having a hard time finding a job at a law firm.

Will he soon be applying for work at the temp agency Manpower?

Maybe not yet — but the New York Times reports that Gonzales is finding the response to his resume has not been enthusiastic:

Alberto R. Gonzales, like many others recently unemployed, has discovered how difficult it can be to find a new job. Mr. Gonzales, the former attorney general, who was forced to resign last year, has been unable to interest law firms in adding his name to their roster, Washington lawyers and his associates said in recent interviews.

He has, through friends, put out inquiries, they said, and has not found any takers. What makes Mr. Gonzales’s case extraordinary is that former attorneys general, the government’s chief lawyer, are typically highly sought.

A longtime loyalist to George W. Bush dating to their years together in Texas, Mr. Gonzales was once widely viewed as a strong candidate to be the first Hispanic-American nominated one day to the Supreme Court. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he carried an impressive personal story as the child of poor Mexican immigrants.

Despite those credentials, he left office last August with a frayed reputation over his role in the dismissal of several federal prosecutors and the truthfulness of his testimony about a secret eavesdropping program. He has had no full-time job since his resignation, and his principal income has come from giving a handful of talks at colleges and before private business groups.

“Frayed,” indeed. Any prospective employer from Mars who did not know who Gonzales is could do a Google search about his legacy and not be impressed by this, this, this, this, this, this or this.

But has there been a new development that won’t improve his legacy but will perhaps end even the remaining half-ounce of doubt about his role in “enhanced interrogation techniques” (the phrase used for “torture” by those defending the administration who apparently also like the phrase “pre-owned cars” instead of “used cars.”) and why he played the role.

Before he left office there were still some who felt Gonzales went along with orders from the top or allowed some others in the administration to relax countless administrations’ policies on torture. But new reports confirm what many suspected: there was indeed knowledge and approval at the very top. The ACLU is now calling for a special prosecutor.

That could never happen unless the Democrats win both the White House and Congress in November.

So in the meantime law firms are likely balking because (a) his legacy isn’t terrific (b) taking on Gonzales won’t be a great in for them if the Democrats take over (c) taking on Gonzales won’t be a great in for them if a Republican takes over. The reason for (c): Gonzales was sharply criticized by many Republicans and greatly disliked by conservatives, who effectively short-circuited a Bush trial balloon to nominate him to the Supreme Court.

So if you go to Manpower to fill out a temp application and see the guy next to you writing under the section that asks him to describe his previous job duties “To follow the boss’ orders” it could be you-know who.

But he will likely land something as time goes on: perhaps a newspaper column (but it may be hard since he is disliked by liberals and many conservatives) or a talking head contract on Fox News (but they weren’t enamored of him either) or a radio talk show (but he is voice and eloquence challenged). Or perhaps he’ll start a big blog (wanna exchange links?). After all, members of administrations have done that before.

Gonzales’ legacy also lives on in political cartoons. Here are two:

Mike Lane, Cagle Cartoons

Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune