I just saw Alberto Gonzales live and in the flesh (dial-up warning)

[turbo_satan]

Alberto Gonzales spoke tonight at the University of Florida. I'll spare you the details of his speech and give you a summary: it was a forty-minute lecture full of meaningless platitudes and sounded like it was intended as a civics lesson for grade-schoolers. He was not received well. The crowd was extremely hostile and he was interrupted many times by protesters who charged the stage with banners and/or were dressed in Abu Ghraib regalia. Gonzo was unflappable and continued on like a grinning idiot. There were several arrests and I would not be surprised if footage makes the national news tonight. Nearly every phrase he uttered was an invitation for hecklers. Without irony, he spoke of the rule of law, the US's adherence to the Geneva Conventions, equal justice, DOJ's blindness to ideology, etc. Many in the crowd wore yellow t-shirts emblazoned with the word "SHAME" on the back and stood facing backward for the entire presentation. Dispensing with the typical Q&A, it was announced that Gonzo would only respond to questions that were written on an index card and placed in a special box. I put a few questions in there myself and looked at many of the other questions, as well. Most of them were along the lines of "How do you sleep at night?" or "Have you no shame?" When it came time for the Q&A, the moderator dug through the box and was able to find maybe three or four questions that he'd ask. They were the kinds of questions you'd expect a loyal Bushie to handle -- "Who is your idol?" "How does it feel to be the first Hispanic Atty. General?" Hard-hitting stuff.

Here's my summary of the night's events: Gonzales raised $40,000 for his defense fund by standing in a metaphorical carnival dunking-booth for 40 minutes. Good riddance.

Here are some pics, most snapped in low light from a clandestine position (pictures weren't allowed).