What was Alberto waiting for?

Thank God Alberto Gonzalez has finally seen fit to resign.  What on earth was this man waiting for?  It was obvious to anybody, Democrat and Republican, with an IQ on the good side of 80 that the man is a liar and flamingingly incompetent.  Alas, he's just sat there somehow convincing himself that he could lead DoJ while the evidence of his incompetence and utter lack of integrity just keep piling up.  From what I've read so far, Slate's John Dickerson has my favorite take that really gets at so much of what is wrong with the Bush Presidency:

Like the pope, the president doesn't admit error. This was an early
governing principle in the Bush White House. Policies could “evolve.”
Talking points could be replaced by new ones that contradicted the
earlier ones…

Nowhere has this approach sapped Bush's credibility more than with
his personnel goofs. As Alberto Gonzales resigns today, he joins Donald
Rumsfeld, Harriet Miers, and Michael Brown?animated failures who could
not be controlled or improved with good public relations. The pattern
has been consistent: The president resists and resists calls for a
change. Then he gives in. In Gonzales' case, it's almost as if Bush
were perfecting this failed approach, wringing out of his embattled old
friend so many embarrassing gaffes that he couldn't be hurt anymore.
Then he let him go.

The more radioactive his aides become, the more Bush embraces them…

As a broader management practice, though, Bush has made a fetish of loyalty even when unaccompanied by ability…

When it came to personnel decisions, his personal sense of loyalty, his
hostility to the Beltway establishment, and his stubbornness all
clouded his judgment. Tolerating incompetence has harmed Bush in any
number of ways. The worst of these is locking in the idea that he's
oblivious to reality.

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