In a post earlier today, I quoted John McCain as telling The Politico that nobody had asked him whether Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should resign. That no one would ask one of the putative GOP front-runners in the prez election what he thought about what is rapidly becoming a non-partisan issue struck an alert Editor Trish as odd. So she sent me back to the Internets to see what I could find.

Indeed, either McCain’s memory is as bad as Gonzales’ or he is lying about being asked the question before yesterday when he said Gonzales should resign.

This quote ran in an April 20 story about gun control in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings:

Yesterday, McCain reiterated his strong support for the war in Iraq and was noncommittal on the future of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. McCain said he believes how Gonzales handled yesterday’s hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee will be a key factor in whether he should remain in office or resign.

This ran yesterday:

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told reporters in New Hampshire as he officially declared his presidential candidacy that he would have more to say on Gonzales on Thursday. Then, he told CNN’s Larry King that he was “very disappointed” in Gonzales’ performance and, asked whether Gonzales should step down, said: “I think that out of loyalty to the president that that would probably be the best thing that he could do.”

But that’s all I could find. Maybe they didn’t ask, or maybe McCain just didn’t tell.

This is the rest of what McCain told The Politico yesterday, before he blabbed to Larry King:

“But the Justice Department is the last institution of government where there should be any politicization of any kind. We’re talking about the administration of Justice.

“That’s why I think that the situation has been very frustrating to a lot of people. But I also think it’s probably harmed the president. That’s why I think the attorney general would be serving the man he admires and has been friends with for many, many years by stepping down.”

Asked why the situation had been allowed to drag on so long, McCain said: “I really don’t know. You see these things happen and it’s pretty easy for you to figure out.” But he added that it can be less clear “inside the bubble.”

McCain also said ruefully that he had no insight into communication among the president’s inner circle. “As you know,” he said with a mischievous smile, “I’m not the most frequent visitor to the White House.”

And the way McCain’s campaign is going, it doesn’t look like his White House visit frequency is going to increase any time soon.