UNSUNG HEROES

Poor Al Gonzales got kicked around during his term as U. S. Attorney General, but he is finally getting his reward: The American Bar Association has named him lawyer of the year. The Bush administration is full of people who didn’t get the recognition they deserve. How about Michael Brown. They blamed him for FEMA’s disastrous handling of Hurricane Katrina. At least the president told him he was doing a heck of a job. Since Brown left, things haven’t gotten any better in New Orleans, so maybe Brownie wasn’t the only one at fault.

What about CIA Director of the year? George Tenet assured the White House gang that Iraq’s possession of WMD was a “slam dunk.” At least Tenet got the Medal of Freedom. George Bush should have a bunch of those hanging around to hand out to loyal henchmen.

Don’t forget Gonzales’s assistant, Monica Gooding. She weeded a lot of closet Democrats out of the Attorney General’s office. Did she get any thanks for that? Did the president even say, “Heck of a job, Monica”?

One of the great heroes of the Bush administration is former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, who saved a lot of money by trying to invade Iraq on the cheap. He even forced the retirement of General Shinseki when the general suggested that they need a lot more troops to do it right. Then a couple of days after the election, the administration tells Rumsfeld that they don’t require his services any more. So what’s Rummy doing now, sitting around brooding over his treatment?

Then there’s Karl Rove. Once they realize that no one likes him, they just send him back to Texas. That’s a fine thank-you.

Julie MacDonald was doing a heck of a job as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Department in Interior. She had to rewrite all those reports done by scientists who were not sensitive to business interests when they wrote about endangered species and stuff. When she left, some people cheered. How’s that for appreciation?

Don’t forget Randy Tobias , who as Deputy Secretary of State urged abstinence rather than condoms to prevent AIDS while he employed the services of “DC Madam” Jeanne Palfrey. Now he’s gone home to wherever. Think about all the money he saved by not supplying condoms. Did anyone say, “You’ve done a great job, Randy”?

And of course there’s Wolfy. Paul Wolfowitz did such a great job getting the country into the war in Iraq, and then he became president of the World Bank for a while before he was forced out. Someone should at least name him Banker of the Year.