Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Impeachment & Executive Privilege - Vol. 3 Issue 78

It has taken 5 years of war and incompetence to depress President Bush’s approval ratings down to the mid-20s. There is no need to recount all the factors effecting the President’s weak position. With the Iraq debacle, the Libby commutation and the looming constitutional crisis over executive privilege, Bush has devolved into the ultimate lame duck. Suffice to say, Bush’s enemies want to finish him off. Hence, elements of the Democratic Congress feel emboldened enough to start using the “I-word.” Almost two years ago, I predicted that the Bush-Cheney regime would eventually find itself defending against impeachment. I am sorry to have seen the obvious.

It is going to be difficult to ignore the clamor for impeachment. But the Democratic leadership MUST resist the awful temptation to impeach this President. Self-restraint is one of the strongest character traits of true Statesmen. If Speaker Pelosi is as wise as I think she is, she will not allow the more rambunctious committee chairmen to become demagogues like the Republican House in 1998. Here is the truth of the matter: impeachment is an awful step and the ultimate in constitutional conflict. “High crimes and misdemeanors” is a very high bar. The question will be, whether Bush’s abuse of power is so serious that it reaches that lofty constitutional standard. The latest polls show the American people are evenly divided on the impeachment issue, 45% for impeachment, 46% against impeachment. Even if the polling were worse than that for Bush, I would still be AGAINST impeachment. It is far better to keep these knaves on the skillet of public opinion. Tomorrow I will explain why ...

Buoyantly, I remain,

Savant