Anna, Elizabeth, Hillary & Monica (No, Not That One)

" 'This dichotomy that's been set up to allow him to become the raging hero of the anti-war crowd on the Internet is just factually inaccurate.'

"Only if you ignore the fact that Hillary voted for the war. . . . Stupid me. I thought the way to express disapproval of going to war was to vote against authorization. I didn't realize the 'stark difference' between those who voted for the war and wanted the war, and those who voted for the war and didn't want the war.

"Look, everyone knew exactly what they were voting for when they cast that vote authorizing force in Iraq. And if they didn't, they're too stupid to be president."

Speaking of the Monica promised in the headline, she is Monica Goodling, Alberto Gonzales's senior counsel. And guess who doesn't want to testify in Purgegate:

"A lawyer for a Justice Department official involved in the controversial firings of eight United States attorneys said today that his client would not testify on Capitol Hill because she is convinced she would not be treated fairly."

I didn't know you got to pick and choose depending on the expected warmth of your reception.

The NYT report continues: "The official, Monica Goodling, the Justice Department's liaison to the White House, is invoking her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and so will decline to answer 'any and all questions regarding the firings,' her lawyer, John M. Dowd, said.

"But Ms. Goodling's refusal does not signal that she has anything to hide, Mr. Dowd told the Senate Judiciary Committee's chairman, Senator Patrick J. Leahy. Rather, Mr. Dowd said, it is a recognition of the 'hostile and questionable environment' that has been spawned by the controversy."

Now hear this: Anyone who's still on the old talking points about how this is a non-story and a non-scandal and pumped up entirely by the press has to throw away that document right now. A senior Justice Department official is taking the Fifth rather than talk about how these U.S. attorneys came to be fired. (Maybe she's hoping for a secret, no-transcript deal like Bush wants for Karl Rove?) And that means even the fig leaf of cooperation has now been removed.

What does the public think? "Americans overwhelmingly support a congressional investigation into White House involvement in the firing of eight U.S. attorneys, and they say President Bush and his aides should answer questions about it without invoking executive privilege.

"In a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Friday-Sunday, respondents said by nearly 3-to-1 that Congress should issue subpoenas to force White House officials to testify. . . .

"By 53%-26%, respondents say the U.S. attorneys were dismissed primarily for political reasons, not because they weren't doing their jobs well -- as Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has said.