Updated

At least four of the Democratic presidential candidates used the same phrase to describe the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales: “long overdue.” Republican contenders Mitt Romney and Rudolph W. Giuliani both praised Mr. Gonzales for his public service, but Mr. Romney went a step further, saying that the attorney general “made the right decision to step aside.”

Though her Senate office, Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has been calling for the resignation of Mr. Gonzales since March, said that although the attorney general “took an oath to uphold our Constitution and respect the rule of law … time and time again, he demonstrated that his loyalties lie with the President and his political agenda, not the American people or the evenhanded and impartial enforcement of our laws”:

In his actions and inaction, from warrantless wiretaps to the firing of United States attorneys, his loyalty was to the president, not the American people.

The Department’s hard-working lawyers, law enforcement officers and staff are trusted to defend our Constitution, not one Administration or political party. That trust is central to the sanctity of the rule of law and the vitality of our democracy. Because he betrayed his obligations and the trust of the American people, I welcome today’s announcement that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has resigned his post as Attorney General of the United States. My hope is that the president will select a new Attorney General who will respect the rule of law and abandon partisanship, who will serve the American people and not the president’s political ideology, and who will answer to the constitution and not political operatives. It is past time to clean up this mess and restore non-partisan accountability and competence to the Department of Justice. The second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina is one more reminder that the President must appoint someone to lead the Department of Justice with the leadership and competence necessary to defend the Constitution.

In a statement from his campaign, Illinois Senator Barack Obama said he has “long believed that Alberto Gonzales subverted justice to promote a political agenda” and was “pleased that he has finally resigned today”:

“The president needs to nominate an Attorney General who will be the people’s lawyer, not the president’s lawyer, and in an Obama Administration that person will first and foremost defend and promote the rights and liberties enshrined in our Constitution.”

Senator Joe Biden, a Democratic presidential candidate and Judiciary Committee member, has repeatedly stated that Mr. Gonzales should either resign or be fired. Here is a portion of his statement:

“When I voted against Attorney General Gonzales’ confirmation, I voiced concern about his ability to go from being the president’s lawyer to the people’s lawyer. I expressed doubts then about his judgment in light of his track record, and role as an architect of policies attempting to place the President above the law. My skepticism was confirmed by his conduct, and his failure to put protecting the American people over protecting the president. The next Attorney General should not make the same mistake.”

Senator Chris Dodd, presidential candidate and Democrat from Connecticut, also weighed in:

“Mr. Gonzales’ Justice Department became a political wing of the Bush Administration and his resignation is long overdue. I will only vote to confirm a nominee for attorney general who is truly independent and who will guarantee reforms that restore and uphold the Constitution.”

From New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson’s presidential campaign:

“The resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is long overdue. The President must nominate an Attorney General who is a lawyer for the American people not a political arm of the White House.”

Former Senator John Edwards was the first to send out reaction, preferring to keep it simple: “Better late than never.”

On the Republican side, Mr. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, sent out this statement:

“Attorney General Gonzales should be recognized for his many years of public service to the State of Texas and to the people of the United States at both the White House and the Department of Justice. I believe the Attorney General made the right decision to step aside. The resignation is an opportunity for President Bush to renew the nation’s commitment to the law enforcement officers and personnel who are dedicated to enforcing the rule of law and protecting the American people from the threat of terrorism around the globe.”

Mr. Giuliani, the former New York mayor, issued this one-liner on the resignation: “Judge Gonzales served his nation honorably and I wish him well in the next phase of his career.”

In addition, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, released this statement this morning:

“I thank Alberto Gonzales for his public service and wish him well in his future endeavors. It is my hope that whomever President Bush selects as the next Attorney General, he or she is not subjected to the same poisonous partisanship that we’ve sadly grown accustomed to over the past eight months.”

Senator Chuck Schumer, one of the Democratic leaders in the Senate who held a press conference earlier today to talk about this, reminded everyone that he called for Mr. Gonzales’ resignation a long time ago. “I don’t know why it took the president so long to come to the same conclusion, but I’m glad he did — four months after I first called for the attorney general to step down. ”

Republican National Committee Chairman Robert M. Duncan fired back at Mr. Schumer:

“Chuck Schumer, the Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, has wasted no time appearing on the airwaves today to make the resignation of Alberto Gonzales — and the appointment of a new Attorney General — into a partisan issue. The appointment of a new Attorney General should not be about scoring political points, and it should not be about fund-raising for the next election; it must be about selecting the best possible person to be our nation’s next top law enforcement official.”

New York Times coverage here. And the backstory, with The Times’s Philip Shenon.