The Washington Shuffle: Salazar & Obama Assume Stereotypical Roles

• Sen. Salazar Approves of Torture Apologist because he has brown skin
• Sen. Obama Shakes his head at Election Fraud. Does little else.

What on earth is the Democratic senator is doing buddying up to the likes of Alberto Gonzales. Is this the first sign of a Ben Nighthorse Campbell-style defection to the Republican ranks after using the Democratic Party to get elected? After all, when Salazar introduced President Bush's nominee for U.S. attorney general - a guy opposed by retired generals, veterans groups, civil rights organizations, even the Mexican American Political Association - it was one of his very first official acts as a senator. And given that Gonzales' confirmation is virtually guaranteed by the Republican majority in the Senate, Salazar's support was wildly unnecessary. So what does Salazar see in this guy? "I'm particularly moved by his historical upbringing," the senator said, "the fact that he came from a place with 11 in his family all cramped into two rooms, his father with only a second-grade education." He went on to graduate from Harvard Law School, to become a justice on the Texas Supreme Court, to advise the president. Salazar said he was impressed with "the fact he's overcome those kinds of very significant obstacles to become a successful lawyer." The lessons from a hardscrabble childhood are invaluable, Salazar said. "And his real-life experience will inform him in his role as attorney general," he said. Nativo Vigil Lopez, president of the Mexican American Political Association, told the Los Angeles Times that the nomination of Gonzales is a cynical ploy to exploit the Latino community. "There is no doubt in my mind that the ethnic card is being played here, and actually to the detriment, in my mind, of the Latino community," he said. [more]

• Pictured above: Gonzales was endorsed by U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, one of two Hispanics in the Senate; they are both freshman. Salazar helped introduce Gonzales at his daylong confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has no Hispanics. [more]