After receiving a boatload of criticism for naming former Bush Attorney General Alberto Gonzales “Lawyer of the Year,” the leaders of the American Bar Association Journal have made a quick reversal. They are now calling his award “Newsmaker of the Year.”

“The Journal regrets that we did not make this theme clear,” according to a statement released by the lawyerly organization. “We appreciate the feedback we’ve received, and we’re acting on it.”

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The New York Times may have scooped The Washington Post on the Alberto Gonzales resignation story by several minutes, but U.S. News’ Washington Whispers gossip columnist Paul Bedard had everyone beat by a whole day.

“The buzz among top Bushies is that beleaguered Attorney General Alberto Gonzales finally plans to depart and will be replaced by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff,” Bedard wrote yesterday. “Why Chertoff? Officials say he’s got fans on Capitol Hill, is untouched by the Justice prosecutor scandal, and has more experience than Gonzales did, having served as a federal judge and assistant attorney general.”

Nary a news outlet has given Bedard credit for his scoop, but he’s taking it in stride.

“Oh well, I used to get worked up about that stuff but not anymore,” Bedard told Big Head DC this morning. “I mean, it’s not like they stole my winning Powerball ticket. I kind of like that Washington Whispers is the tip sheet the bigs go to for ideas.”

CNN confirmed earlier this morning that Chertoff is a possible candidate for replacement.

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The Times’ story has been out for 20 minutes now; still nothing up at WaPo. Kind of embarrassing, no?

UPDATE: WaPo runs with brief Reuters story:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has resigned, the New York Times reported on Monday, citing a senior administration official.

The official said an official announcement would be made later in the day.

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The water cooler moment of tonight’s pundit programs occurred on Hardball when, during a debate about Alberto Gonzales, The Hill newspaper’s conservative Karen Hanretty threw a flurry of eye rolls in Ezra Klein’s direction — and then screeched, “How old are you?” after he attempted to answer a question on the Gonzales federal prosecutor firings. Host Chris Matthews even cracked a smike.

For your information, Klein was born on May 9, 1984, which makes him just 23 years young.

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Montgomery Blair Sibley, the civil lawyer for Deborah Jeane Palfrey, has written Big Head DC to give us the latest shocking update in the government’s still developing case against her escort service.

On Monday, two federal government agents arrived at the door of Palfrey’s 75 year-old mom in Florida to interrogate her, according to Sibley. He says that Palfrey’s mom is “in poor health” and “that the government is considering going after Jeane’s mother’s assets.”

Sibley concluded his message by saying that Palfrey’s “attorneys are considering options in response to this latest tactic from Alberto Gonzalez and company.”

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By now, most everyone has heard about Monica M. Goodling, the former senior aide to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, who was involved in hiring and firing Justice Department employees solely based on their party affiliation. If not, you can read about Goodling’s “dramatic public admission” about the Bush gang’s allegedly illegal hiring criteria in this Washington Post story.

Yet the photogenic blond graduate of the Pat Robertson-founded Regent University made an even more dubious contribution to Washington life a few years ago. Remember back when the Justice Dept. spent $8,000 to cover up art deco statues that featured bare-breasted women? Well, according to a little-noticed May 7 “Inside Washington” column in the National Journal, it was the prudish Goodling, not John Ashcroft who ordered the ostensibly “offensive” art works covered up.

So it seems Ashcroft wasn’t the uptight anti-sex fanatic we thought he was. That honor goes to Goodling. Wonder if her “immunity” in testifying will mean she won’t go to the slammer, where there’s sure to be some real undressing going on.

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