No other quote sums up the Republican attitude towards government more perfectly, not even Cheney's other one (you know which).  For them, governing is not a responsibility, it's not a duty, it's not a service.  It's a reward for winning.  Republicans look at the American government, at the prodigious capabilities and resources it has built up over the past 200+ years, and all they can think about is how to use it to their own advantage.  How they can reward their friends, settle scores with their enemies, and consolidate power so they can go on partying forever.  It never even occurs to them that the government was designed for other purposes, like looking out for the disadvantaged, or protecting the environment, or catching criminals.

These functions are all extraneous nonsense to the Republicans, which is why they're such believers in small government.  They want to get rid of everything that's not part of the Department Of Giving The Republicans Everything And Then Some, so they can use the savings for top-bracket tax cuts, corporate welfare, and just-in-case-the-Soviets-come-back weapons systems.  Sure, sometimes the DOGTREATS ends up being even bigger than the entire federal government used to be, but at least it's efficient.  Plus it really pisses off the liberals.

The US Attorney firings are a perfect example of this Republican mentality at work.  Except for the one pushed aside to make room for Rove's buddy, they were all fired solely because they weren't on board with the Republican plan, and wanted to actually prosecute cases according to the law, or some such nonsense.  Obviously, zero tolerance is the only sensible policy here, because if you're not using the weight of the federal government to protect Republicans and cast suspicion on Democrats (and possibly manufacture a "Democrat Voter Fraud" narrative), then you're stealing from your employer.

I may be hopelessly naive (sunny optimist that I am), but I really do believe that this is a fundamental difference between Republicans and Democrats.  For all their flaws, the Democrats genuinely do believe that the government is supposed to work for everyone's benefit, not just their own.  Sure, the Democrats have their share of corrupt looters and pro-corporate assholes, but their core principles and policies are still more people-oriented than money-oriented.  They just need to figure out how to turn eight years of material into the underlying narrative of the 2008 elections – something like: "Republicans believe the government works for them; we believe it works for you."  And for God's sake, stop worrying about the 40% who want us to stay in Iraq, and start worrying about the 60% who want us to leave.