Personally, I believe there is highly probable cause to impeach both Bush and Cheney, as is a very slim majority in agreement. It would generate so much controversy that the nation would lose sight — more than it does now — of the exigencies of the greater good. There is little doubt that the dynamic duo would be found guilty of charges that they deceived the people in believing Saddam was connected to the 9/11 tragedy, that he possessed WMD of so pressing a matter that we should not wait for the “mushroom cloud” hovering what was left of the nation’s Capitol, that they authorized unwarranted spying on citizens, illegal detention and torture of captives. Yet the people, the Congress and the Press are also impeachable for having witlessly allowed such a scenario to snowball. We cannot hide behind the Nuremberg cry that we are not responsible for acquiescing to such gestalt shortcomings in the greatest democratic nation in history.
Though I myself have accused the Democratic Party of being unpardonable wimps, in this scenario it is wise to cool it, rather than rush into a scenario that would jeopardize victory in the elections of ‘06 and ‘08. Having lived through the hysteria of two impeachments has made me doubt the sagacity of a long, melodramatic trial proving “high crimes and misdemeanors.” Were it not for the sinuous rationale of clever lawyers and inevitably opposing senators, and were it not for the inevitable partisan division among the people — I trust the Founding Fathers did not envision — that such action would cause, perhaps it would be possible to achieve justice and the rule of law. Though Feingold had the right idea to settle for Censure with the hope that Bush in the future take careful aim rather than shooting from the hip, the senator nonetheless was crucified — I shudder at the thought of moving toward impeachment.
Copyright © 2006 Richard R. Kennedy All rights reserved. Revised: March 23, 2006.
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