Sen. Charles Schumer had this to say about Buttercheeks today:

The attorney general took an oath to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Instead, he tells the half-truth, the partial truth and everything but the truth. And he does it not once, and not twice, but over and over and over again.

That’s a great sound bite, and no doubt it will make the rounds today.

But every word also rings true. Unfortunately.

Reading those words made me think of Alberto, for the first time, as some mother’s son.

One of his biographical sketches describes his family background thus:

His parents, Pablo and Maria Gonzales, first met as migrant workers. They settled in Houston after Alberto was born and raised a family that would eventually number eight children. Mr. Gonzales worked in construction, and later was employed in a rice mill, but there were no luxuries for this large family. Mr. Gonzales drank heavily and the house was often filled with the sound of violent quarrels, but Gonzales’s mother instilled deep religious values in her children and encouraged them to do well in school.

I imagine Maria Gonzales was fiercely proud of her son when he was sworn in as Attorney General of the United States of America. She was right by his side at the swearing-in ceremony.

I can’t imagine that she holds her head very high now. She may put up a brave front, but how can she feel anything but shame and dishonor inside? And the sharpest, most stabbing kind of pain in her heart.

As Alberto Gonzales chortles with glee inside at how he merrily lies with impunity — to Senate and House committees at hearings, to the American people at press conferences and interviews — he might spare a thought for this woman, and what he’s already done to her. How he has shamed her. And how he continues to shame her every single day that he continues in office.

Alberto, that sharp and stabbing pain in Maria Gonzales’ heart comes from a knife. That knife is still in her heart. And that knife is in your hand. You are the one who twists it, and you’re twisting it every day. Every day that you bring more shame and dishonor on yourself. Every day that you bring more shame and dishonor on your mother, on your family, on your President, on your party. Every day that you make people wonder and ask: Is this how Maria Gonzales raised this man? Is this what he learned from her?