It may be naïve to hope that politics can stay out of some aspects of government. We hope that it doesn't affect our daily lives so much that it compromises some of the ideals that we as U.S. citizens hold dear.

However, we have come to see that with the Bush administration, politics and loyalty are everything. This is so much so that sometimes loyalty is valued over competency.

It seems that the White House has become its own version of Tammany Hall, the corrupt Democratic political machine that controlled New York politics from the 1790s to the 1960s. While there will always be power players and party loyalty in politics, a line has to be drawn. And it is clear, that in the Bush White House, there is no such line.

In recent weeks, voters have learned that several U.S. attorneys were fired, not because of poor job performance, but because they weren't loyal to the Bush White House. E-mails are swirling around indicating that White House political operative Karl Rove played a large part in the firings, and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales may be losing his job over it.

There is no excuse for politicizing the justice department. The law is the law.

There should not be any politics in whether a Democrat or Republican is prosecuted. It should be whether the man or woman committed a criminal act.

If U.S. attorneys understand that, why can't the White House?

Other Republicans see the danger in politicizing the Justice Department, so why can't the White House?

President Bush, please understand, political loyalty is important, and we understand that.

But draw the line.