Resignation of Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales VIDEO

Dept. of Justice Press Briefing on Resignation of Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales - Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales holds a news conference announcing his resignations as the 80th Attorney General of the United States. 8/27/2007: WASHINGTON, DC: 2:05 min.

President Bush Discusses Resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, TSTC Airport, Waco, Texas 10:50 A.M. CDT. THE PRESIDENT: This morning, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced that he will leave the Department of Justice,

after two and a half years of service to the department. Al Gonzales is a man of integrity, decency and principle. And I have reluctantly accepted his resignation, with great appreciation for the service that he has provided for our country.

As Attorney General and before that, as White House counsel, Al Gonzales has played a role in shaping our policies in the war on terror, and has worked tirelessly to make this country safer. The Patriot Act, the Military Commissions Act and other important laws bear his imprint. Under his leadership, the Justice Department has made a priority of protecting children from Internet predators, and made enforcement of civil rights laws a top priority. He aggressively and successfully pursued public corruption and effectively combated gang violence.

As Attorney General he played an important role in helping to confirm two fine jurists in Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito. He did an outstanding job as White House Counsel, identifying and recommending the best nominees to fill critically important federal court vacancies.

Alberto Gonzales's tenure as Attorney General and White House Counsel is only part of a long history of distinguished public service that began as a young man when, after high school, he enlisted in the United States Air Force. When I became governor of Texas in 1995, I recruited him from one of Texas's most prestigious law firms to be my general counsel. He went on to become Texas's 100th secretary of state and to serve on our state's supreme court. In the long course of our work together this trusted advisor became a close friend.

These various positions have required sacrifice from Al, his wife Becky, their sons Jared, Graham and Gabriel, and I thank them for their service to the country.

After months of unfair treatment that has created a harmful distraction at the Justice Department, Judge Gonzales decided to resign his position, and I accept his decision. It's sad that we live in a time when a talented and honorable person like Alberto Gonzales is impeded from doing important work because his good name was dragged through the mud for political reasons.

I've asked Solicitor General Paul Clement to serve as Acting Attorney General upon Alberto Gonzales's departure and until a nominee has been confirmed by the Senate. He's agreed to do so. Paul is one of the finest lawyers in America. As Solicitor General, Paul has developed a reputation for excellence and fairness, and earned the respect and confidence of the entire Justice Department.

Thank you.

END 10:54 A.M. CDT

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Fred Thompson Republican Conference VIDEO

UPDATE: 09.05.07 Fred Thompson I'm In Campaign Ad

Senator Fred Thompson delivers the keynote address at the Midwest Republican Leadership Conference. The Heartland Republican Dinner was held in the Indiana Convention Center. File is real media format running time is 34:44 Copyright © 2007, National Cable Satellite Corporation.

The response below from imwithfred.com the official website for Senator Thompson

Fred Speaks Before Midwest Republican Leadership Conference Posted on August 26th, 2007 By Sean in Entitlements and Military

Saturday, Fred bounded into Indianapolis for the Midwest Republican Leadership Conference. Keynoting the evening dinner he spoke with sincerity on the pressing issues that will challenge America for years to come:

“I believe on the present course we’re going to be a weaker, less prosperous, more divided nation than what we are today,” Thompson said, arguing that only reliance on the bedrock principles of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence would prevent that slide.

National security in light of the radical Islam threat, unsustainable entitlement spending, and dispair and cynicism with government were all concerns Fred told a riveted audience of Republican activists:

“Our country is in danger and it’s going to be in danger for a long time to come,” he said. “We have got to be more united and more committed than ever before.”

He said government spending was out of control, and people had little faith in government solving problems in areas such as energy, education and health care.

“We probably have more cynicism toward our leadership than in a long time,” he said. “How do people follow when people don’t have any confidence in what is said and who is saying it?”

The audience approved of Fred’s message. The Associated Press reports:

He received a more rousing reception when he was introduced to speak than Romney and Huckabee got, with many in the crowd of 500 or so whooping and hollering and shouting, “Fred, Fred, Fred.”

Unlike the stiff character he plays on TV, Thompson was casual as he spoke. He warmed up the crowd with a few jokes, saying that while he was a senator he could recall that every once and awhile, a member of Congress would slip up by “actually spending their own money.”

Earlier in the day Fred talked with Karen Hensel of Indianapolis television station WISH about his possible political prospects and the war in Iraq:

He got serious about his new role as a possible president immediately.

Karen: You are used to auditions, now you are auditioning for the career of a lifetime. How do you prepare for that?

Fred: I don’t prepare for it as such. I think it has to do with how you relate to the people. You’ve got to be yourself. You’ve got to speak what’s on your mind and in your heart and see whether or not you’re a man for the times. It’s just that simple.

Karen: At a time some people are calling for troop withdrawal in Iraq, if you were President today what would be your message?

Fred: It is presumptuous to say exactly what you would do when you’re not President and you don’t have access to all the information he has. But it certainly seems to be like announcing a troop withdrawal date or withdrawing troops too rapidly would be a big mistake for our country.

Karen: What’s the advantage to showing up in the polls as well as you do, showing up at events and you haven’t event declared your candidacy?

Fred: This is not a part of some strategy of mine. It’s just that I haven’t been deciding I wanted to run for president since I was high school prom king, and I never was incidentally. Usually people don’t announce until later than this but this year everybody wanted to get out there earlier and start spending large huge amounts of money that much earlier. I just refuse to play that game.

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