reality-based educator

From the NY Times:

WASHINGTON, April 6 — Monica Goodling, the Justice Department official who helped coordinate the firings of eight United States attorneys, an episode that has jeopardized the position of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, resigned today.

Ms. Goodling, who has been on leave from her post as the Justice Department’s liaison to the White House, told Mr. Gonzales of her decision in a terse letter, a department official said.

On March 26, Ms. Goodling’s lawyer notified the Senate Judiciary Committee that she would invoke her constitutional right to refuse to testify in an inquiry about the dismissals — not because she had anything to hide, but because she did not expect fair treatment in the current climate of political hostility, the lawyer said.

Pete Williams, NBC law correspondent and former aide to Dick Cheney, tried to spin the news positively for the administration. He told Chris Matthews on Hardball that now Democrats won't be able to try and drag Goodling before the committees for testimony "because she no longer works for the government." Matthews wasn't buying it, however. "That's one way of nuancing this story," he said.

Indeed.