EDITORIAL GONZALES MUST GO TIME FOR BUSH TO DROP FAILED ATTORNEY GENERAL.

LOYALTY, to President George W. Bush, is not only a virtue, it is apparently the only virtue.

And it's seemingly loyalty that leads Bush to hang on to disgraced, failed Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Truth be told, the attorney-firing scandal that has embroiled Gonzales is, at its basic level, petty. U.S. attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president. They are fired and hired for political reasons all the time, such as when President Clinton dismissed 93 of them upon taking office in 2001.

But that doesn't excuse Gonzales' inept handling of the situation, let alone the incredible dishonesty that's followed.

His embarrassing performance before Congress last week ought to be the final straw. His inability to recall meetings he attended, memos he read, decisions he made or answer even basic questions suggests either a dismal memory, total incompetence or willful deceitfulness -- none of which is acceptable for the nation's top law enforcement officer.

Loyalty is a virtue, but so is accountability. And loyalty means more than being loyal to one's friends. Bush also ought to be loyal to the American people and to his oath of office by letting Gonzales go.