Gonzales and the problem

Daily Kos pointed me to an article at Salon which gets to the heart of the problem with Gonzales and the firings. The firings were fine, but the problem comes when lies are told about why they happened.

Here's the money quote:

The president had an absolute right to fire us. We served at his pleasure, and that meant we could be dismissed for any reason or for no reason. And we all accepted that fact without complaint. When challenged by Congress, the leaders of the Department of Justice could have refused to explain. Or, they could have explained the truth. But apparently the truth behind some or all of the firings was embarrassing. So, instead, they said it was because of "performance." We didn't accept that, because it wasn't the truth.