Octa-Gonzo: Jeralyn Merritt has thoughts on the eight fired US Attorneys:

The job has always been a political plum. The U.S. Attorney is nominated by the President, based on recommendations from the Senators in the particular District. Almost without exception, the appointee is from the President’s political party. When a new President is elected, we get new U.S. Attorneys.

…The travesty of the current U.S. Attorney firing scandal is not that U.S. Attorneys are being replaced. That is expected after an election, such as the one in 2004. It’s that it’s happening in 2007.

…I’m no fan of Republican U.S. Attorneys who got their job because they carried water for Bush in 2004 and had the blessing of their District’s Senators. That’s the way the job is assigned.

But, firing them because they didn’t bring the cases the Administration wanted them to bring, or because they brought cases against Republicans or didn’t bring cases against Democrats is beyond the pale.

…So have whatever sympathy for these U.S. Attorneys that you deem appropriate. Just remember that when appointed, it wasn’t because they were non-partisan champions of justice. It was because they were political friends of Bush or the Republican party.

Eventually we may find out why they were fired.

Laura Rozen rounds up some recent reporting.

MORE: “Octa-Gonzo”? Well, there are eight attorneys, they are gone, Gonzalez is involved… ahh, if I have to explain it, forget it (I need to ask John Tierney about this…). “Eight Men Out” works for me but the Black Sox have a prior claim.