Who Are Those Guys?

You know, when men in real authority need attack dogs, the quality they most seek is loyalty. A corollary of loyalty of the kind that is required to carry out dirty jobs is a high threshold for disapproval. There are men who are used to not being admired for their charm, who, knowing this, will be determined to succeed, to allow success to serve as compensation for lack of grace. Such men are dangerous men. They simply don't care what people think of them. In Gonzales, Chertoff and Mukasey we have men who are emblematic of the type.

Need to work outside of the constitutional framework, Mr. President? No problem. Need to stonewall, temporize, resort to equivocation, be disingenous, use Orwellian language? None of these are a problem. I'm the man for you.

If the day comes when I have to fall on my sword, swallow the bitter pill, you will be able to count on me. I will take the bullet for you.

This will not make me attractive, not make me appear heroic in the eyes of most men, but they always looked upon me with disdain in any case. What I will get in return is a page in the history books. What I will get in return is the opportunity to be in a position of such power that I will be able to put some of the charmers in their place. What I will get is the sweet smell of the power trip that I could not get any other way. When I enter a Georgetown restaurant, the taste of the Bordeaux will be all the sweeter for the knowledge that there are men and women in the room who recognize me and who recognize in me the power to destroy.