Have GWB and his cronies gone too far, in a Nixonian sense? Will we see a repeat of the tearful walk out to a helicopter and hear “I am not a crook?” 30 years later? John Dean, a man who played a prominent role in that episode, asks if what now appear to be Bush’s explicit lies to Congress and the American public rise to the level of high crimes and are grounds for impeachment?
As the estimable Oliver Willis says, “I do not believe that the impeachment of a president is a frivolous thing to be thrown around lightly.” Though the Republicans surely didn’t hesitate to go after Clinton like a starving pit bull over whether William Jefferson told the truth vis a vis how far he went with Monica. So I’m thinking, turnabout is fair play, what’s good for the goose, and so on with other relevent cliches.
The Whiskey Bar Blog had a similar collection of Bush lies, with numerous calls for impeachment, about a week before the Dean essay appeared, though one might expect that between writing and production lead time Dean’s piece was already in the works at that time. Hari, over on the inevitable MeFi thread, raised a scary point: if the Bushinator is impeached, we get President Cheney. And if that stress is too much for his pacemaker-supported heart, next in line is Speak of the House Dennis Hastert. Oh, that makes me feel so much better!
Possibly my favorable reaction to Dean’s column is because I feel duped by Bush into supporting the war in Iraq. As regular readers here know, I surely don’t support any of his other significant activities or initiatives, but I felt that with all the <airquotes>evidence</airquotes> on Hussein that we needed to put up or shut up. Now I’m thinking, “That lying son of a bitch has to go.” Given that his own party controls both houses of Congress (thanks Arizona, thanks Colorado, to pick on two states that should know better than to send two Republicans to the Senate), I don’t see impeachment getting anywhere.
But this surely gives the Democrats an issue, if they have the balls to pick it up, that can make a big difference in next year’s elections. Howard Dean the other night on The Charlie Rose Show seemed willing to enunciate his differences Our Fearless LiarLeader so I’ll be looking to him first for a response. Keep your eyes open, make sure this doesn’t fall between the cracks.
BillSaysThis 