Now that the possibility of impeachment is finally on the table, the only question is, will it matter? The incriminations are certainly sufficient to justify impeachment (Alternet):
There is no shortage of diligent documentation of this president’s violation of laws and misleading of the public — from the 1,284-page Torture Papers to congressman John Conyers’ 273-page compilation [PDF] of the lies leading to the Iraq war. But behind this incredible ongoing compendium of evidence against President Bush lurks the realization that publicly pointing to criminal behavior is not synonymous with bringing it to an end.
Pushing impeachment through a Republican Congress is going to be no small feat. And the public, bizarrely enough, doesn’t seem to care all that much (insufficient salaciousness?) And then there’s the question of whether it will make any difference — if the mindset of the administration doesn’t change, what will we have gained?
Dick Cheney would be an improvement? Or Ted Stevens?
I say it’d be quicker if he’d just resign. The letter is just waiting for his signature.
Whether it changes what the administration does or not, it’s worth it. It reaffirms a basic tenant of American law: that nobody is above it, not even the President. I don’t know why you say the public doesn’t care. You care. I care. Are we not part of the public? It hasn’t captured the public imagination (and the news) because it lacks the simplicity, emotional appeal, and easy comprehensibility of illicit blowjobs and marital infidelity, and because there are other things to occupy the limelight. A really good scandal takes a slow week in news, IMHO.
Given the damage Watergate did to Americans’ sense of trust in our government, I’m not eager for another serious impeachment, but maybe gouging this chancre from the body politic will let some of the other pus drain.
-Jim
I’m not eager for another serious impeachment, but maybe gouging this chancre from the body politic will let some of the other pus drain.
Yow — Sing it, Jim!
David, no, I wouldn’t be eager to see Cheney take over, but it’s hard to imagine him being much worse. The important thing would be in keeping the bar at a reasonable level for ethics in U.S. government. Allowing him to stay in office after what’s gone down after the past six years sends a message to the rest of the world that we Just. Don’t. Care.