The Usual Motion

What’s the ring on his right hand? A class ring? Harvard, perhaps? Poor Gonzales, he tried so hard to fit into the Bush plutocracy and completely compromised himself as a result. Now he’s being forced to face the fact that to Bush, Cheney and Rove he was never meant to be anything but a fall guy. His necktie is just a tad too flashy for a press conference intended to convince the public that he acted in a moral and transparent manner. He always seems out of his depth. But he has no one to blame but himself.

it’s an interesting perspective, but if you go beyond the gesticulating, everything about him came apart as shifty and unsure. Not what you’d expect from an attorney. Even Ashcroft could maintain his countenance.
I’m not sure when the press-conference-at-a-podium became less and less common, but it’s a special kind of communication skill to be able to stand still and answer questions to a giant semi-circle of dozens of journalists and flashing cameras. Gonzalez certainly was not meant for the arena.
He looked smaller than usual, his suit too stiff, his boyish face and (as someone noticed) jumpy eye movements combining for someone looking completely over their head. He’d been caught in the cookie jar, is going to take his lumps, and maybe it’ll all blow over.
A lot has been made of his non-apology apology, his half-assed taking-of-responsibility that he had an aide who acted without his knowledge, etc. etc. But like something out the story in “Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat,” like the nuerologically-disabled who could tell Reagan was full of it, you didn’t have to hear a word to tell Gonzalez was full of even more.

Did you have to be neurologically disabled to tell Reagan was full of it? Guess I’d better see my doctor.
Ashcroft was a fool. Gonzalez is a godfather’s mouthpiece.

I didn’t see the press conference, and looking only at the hands, I got two impressions: very nervous and at the same time, dismissive of criticism. The tie is distracting, and he’s got that little flag in his lapel, which no longer serves to deflect questioning….

#1
A defensive gesture, hands tightly clasped and held close to the body.
#2
Seems like a sign flash to me. He is making a fine point and raising his fingers to draw our attention to it. It’s exaggerated and how you might expect a magician to hold a handkerchief.
#3
I’m ticking them off one by one so insignificant you can understand.
#4
I see the ring, the watch, the cufflink. Are his hands manicured? The entire ensemble has an aesthetic to it doesn’t it?
#5
I’m not getting “clap harder”, I’m getting “something larger about to envelope” the subject at hand. One hand is going in one direction but is about to be taken over from another.
#6 & 7
Back off!
#8
I’m getting the hell out of here.