presidents-counselor

by Bill Minutaglio

The first and only biography of the most controversial u.s. Attorney general in recent memory In defiance of expectations, statistics, and stereotypes, Alberto Gonzales has risen to become one of the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• ISBN: B007SN5408
• Release Date: January 1

Customer Reviews

NOBODY EXPECTS A SPANISH INQUISITION......

This is an astounding study of Alberto Gonzales for the conclusions it leaves unsaid. You have an incredible story of a poor boy with an alcoholic father (who never questions the root causes of his father's alcoholism), who rises to power by toiling for the scion of privileged political and industrial barrons. It is an incredible pull yourself by your bootstraps story, even if it is perfectly clear that said rise involved the licking of other boots. In what I have never understood about South American, and for that manner Spanish derived countries, is the move toward dictatorships, juntas, inquisitions, tyranny that seems to sprout in each and every political descendant of the European country that gave us Jesuits gone Wild in the middle ages. Doesn't make any difference if the country is communist or or fascist, the results are the same: the poor are belittled and beleagured, abused and neglected. So, you would think such an upbringing would convince a young man to stem that cycle of abuse. Not in the case of Gonzales. Maybe if we take a psychoanalytic study of this tome, what we would see is a self-hatred that wanted to enable the cycle of violence to continue. How else might one explain the social inequities this man pursues, the abbrogations of the US Constitution, the violation of both letter and law of the Bill of Rights so that others are punished, as severely as possible, for their disobedience? I would suggest that if you read this book critically, you'll come away with a very disturbing portrait of the man to whom the Justice Department is entrusted. And Justice? Well, there is justice for the wealthy and pwoerful, and there is what everyone else deserves for not labouring and honouring those who grant you the boons of survival. Mind you, I admire his rise from his family history. I just can't understand the psychoses that prevent him from wanting to do what he could to enable others to rise, preserve the right to dissent from an abusive and, formerly in the case of the current PaapaDoc Dauphin, alcoholic patriarch, to protect, forgive (I mean he IS Catholic) and struggle for the underprivileged because that above all else is what Senor Jesus preached. The answers to my questions are clearly and dramatically spelled out in this suspenseful story. I can't wait until it ends.....

The President's Counselor: The rise to power of Alberto Gonzales

Excellent book with great background information on Bush as well. The Texas politics parts are fascinating. A really good writer. I hope he does a follow-up on Gonzales and his role in the government in the nearer past.

Personal Loyalty, Impeccable Public Servant - Al Gonzales

Alberto Gonzales was recently confirmed as the 80th Attorney General of the United States. Bill Minutaglio, in his new book, The President's Counselor, describes how Mr. Gonzales rose from abject poverty at the outset of his life to become the nation's top law enforcement official. Minutaglio presents us with a vivid and spectacular opening to the book - 2 wonderfully written chapters detailing Gonzales' early years in Humble, Texas. We are given a very evocative portrait of the sufferings of migrant workers deep in the heart of Texas - this really gives the reader a unique perspective on the upbringing of this man Alberto Gonzales. Minutaglio recounts for the reader with the story of how Gonzales escaped this poverty, became a lawyer, and befriended George W. Bush, who was later to become the 43rd President of the United States. As an utterly loyal servant to his client, Gonzales seems to be completely subservient to the wishes of his client, including his revered friend George Bush. As the counselor to Bush in Texas and again in Washington, Gonzales has demonstrated his loyalty and willingness to find the legal loopholes to ensure that the Bush agenda is compliant with the laws as it is promoted. However, as Minutaglio discusses, this has come at a price to Gonzales - he has been subjected to many questions about the so called "Bybee memo" which appears to have condoned torture at Abu Ghraib, and about his involvement in the domestic wiretapping program undertaken by the Bush Administration. As George Bush rose through the political ranks to become President, Alberto Gonzales also rose through the political ranks, became a much more political player than ever before, and has now risen to the level of the nation's first Hispanic Attorney General. Many writings have speculated that Bush will elevate Gonzales to a spot on the Supreme Court bench if there is another opening during his Presidency. This book certainly lends some credence to the theory that Bush rewards his inner circle of friends and confidants, but I believe that Bush will not offer Gonzales a seat on the high tribunal of the United States Supreme Court for fear that he is not conservative enough. Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Bush administration. I think that the author does not always give due to his audience - he often repeats specific phrases in an effort to get his point across. However, the book is (for the most part) well written and gives us an unbiased picture of the subject.