Specter disses Gonzo... on Air Force One

My first thought when reading this story? It's about time that some Republicans start speaking up and speaking out about the Bush administration and its seeming indifference to the rule of law.

However, to me, this story is notable for two reasons: Arlen Specter is a Republican Senator from my own Pennsylvania, and Specter piped up aboard Air Force One. That ought to get the attention of his Republican colleagues in Congress, much less President Bush.

From The New York Times:

Guests of President Bush aboard Air Force One generally know that he expects them to behave in a certain way: No showboating or mingling with the on-board press corps and, certainly, no criticizing the commander in chief or his team.

Senator Arlen Specter violated both points of decorum on Thursday. He visited with reporters aboard the presidential airplane before it lifted off for Philadelphia and lambasted the attorney general.

Mr. Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, wandered back into the press cabin as the plane sat on the tarmac at Andrews Air Force Base before the president arrived from the White House.

According to a pool report of the encounter, Mr. Specter expressed anew his criticism of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales but said he saw no signs that Mr. Gonzales would be forced to resign. Mr. Specter attributed Mr. Gonzales's job security to Mr. Bush's "personal loyalty" to him.

Mr. Specter spoke derisively of Mr. Gonzales's appearance Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he faced accusations that he misled Congress last year when he said there had been no disagreement within the administration over the National Security Administration’s domestic surveillance program.

Read more Here.

Will this change much? I'm not sure, but there seems to be a steady Drip, Drip, Drip of Republicans who are finally beginning to wake up to the excesses and abuses of the Bush administration. I'd like to think that the drips will turn into a deluge, but only time will tell.

It's about time.