Fired U.S. Attorney John McKay calls for Alberto Gonzales' ouster

If Gonzales believes he has "weathered the storm" created by his own mismanagement of the Department of Justice, he is mistaken:

The only way to restore the public's faith in the Justice Department and boost the flagging morale of federal prosecutors nationwide is for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to step down, John McKay, former U.S. attorney for Western Washington, said Thursday.

"The only solution I see coming is for a new attorney general who has the instant respect of the Senate Judiciary Committee," he said. "I think what people fear is another political battle and another Bushie coming in."

And just how badly have these firings been mishandled?

"The problem is that loyalty to the presidency was allowed to be the principal driver at the Justice Department," McKay said. "What I am seeing are the beginnings of a criminal investigation case."

Gonzales isn't gone yet, but he has become a big liability for the administration. At some point, Bush will probably ask him to leave, just as he did with Donald Rumsfeld, who stayed at the Pentagon despite pressure to resign. He was ultimately canned after the 2006 midterm elections.