Bush's Olympic Hurdle

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer editorial board writes: "If all this seems inconsequential, rest assured, it is not. It is, in fact, illegal and devastating to the cause of justice in our country. Installing political lackeys in positions that ought to be free from the fetters of party politics virtually guarantees a miscarriage of justice."

The Roanoke Times editorial board writes: "The Bush administration illegally turned the Justice Department into a farm system for conservative Christian attorneys. For the last eight years, political hacks ruined the reputation of the one executive department that absolutely must stand above partisanship."

The Waco Tribune editorial board writes: "The department is supposed to be a check on the partisan impulses of politicians in power, not their tool."

The Newark, N.J., Star-Ledger editorial board writes: "The Bush administration's attempt to transform the Justice Department by using a rigid political litmus test to fill nonpolitical jobs was tawdry. It was illegal. And, unfortunately, it was successful."

The Des Moines Register editorial board writes: "These findings are not entirely surprising given the politicization of the Justice Department under Gonzales, and it would be easy to let this pass given the short time left for the Bush administration. But that would be a mistake: Evidence of the department's infection with politics is a disservice to the many career lawyers who take seriously their duty to seek equal justice for all, not just for one political party."

The San Jose Mercury News editorial board writes: "Politicizing the Justice Department will be a noxious legacy of President Bush."

The USA Today editorial board writes: "If any more proof were needed that the Justice Department became just another political arm of the White House under former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, it came Monday in a devastating report by the agency's own independent investigators."

So what to do?

The Miami Herald editorial board writes: "The most damning part of the report on political hiring within the Justice Department is the evidence of a systematic, deliberate effort to break down the walls between law enforcement and politics that was fully encouraged by President Bush's White House.

"It defies belief to think that zealous mid-level operatives like Monica Goodling and Kyle Sampson could engage in outrageous, clearly improper political vetting of candidates for Justice Department jobs without the explicit consent, if not direction, of higher-ups. . . .

"The question is who was giving the orders and whether any laws were broken in the process. . . .

"The individuals responsible for ordering these and similar actions should be held accountable.