The only people odder than Ms. Goodling were the House Republicans who rushed to praise her.
It was certainly odd watching this defanged Ann Coulter with her little-girl whine, the very picture of pretension, wile, and incompetence, go up against a sharp mind like that of Alabama Congressman Artur Davis.
Ms. Goodling appeared to be straining to make her testimony helpful to Mr. Gonzales, but when backed into a corner, she conceded that he had lied about his role in the scandal.
Here she was, her appearance and voice more like that of a born mall-rat than a born-again Christian and high level legal advisor, going up against the real thing, a real lawyer, a real guardian of American law. Davis, shrewd prosecutor, was relentless.
She gave Congress all the reason it needs to compel Karl Rove and Harriet Miers, the former White House counsel, to testify about what they know.
During her testimony she revealed herself as an apparently insouciant standard-bearer for the most cynical level of governance any of us has ever witnessed.
By the end she had given it up.
Congress has no choice but to question under oath the two people who are in the best position to shed light on the mystery: Mr. Rove and Ms. Miers.
Dahlia Lithwick matches Monica up with Elle Woods.
