If only the Democratic Leadership Council, the people who forced a man greatly admired by most of the people, Paul Hackett, out of the Ohio primary, would exhibit that kind of leadership!
It is amazing that when Clinton was impeached, only 26% of the population (Democrats and Republicans) were in favor of impeachment, but Republicans were so "outraged" a president would lie about his sex life, they went ahead with impeachment anyway.
The "backlash" Republicans suffered for impeaching the president over a personal matter came about mainly because many of those most "outraged" by Clinton's affair had similiar sexual skeletons in their own closets, and most people of both parties do not like hypocrites.
Impeaching a president for lying us into a war resulting in the deaths and maimings of tens, if not hundreds of thousands of Iraqis as well as the deaths of 2300 American soldiers and the injuring of 17,000 others, and breaking surveillance laws are NOT petty grounds for impeachment. Lying us into a war and holding himself above the law DO impact the well-being of this country, its people and the world.
The "war president" has seriously undermined our military, National Guard, and Reserves. God only knows how many billions of dollars it will cost to care for those injured physically or mentally in Bush's misbegotten "vanity" (General McPeak's words) war.
Now, this president's popularity is at 34%. In a recent poll, the 3 most common words used to describe him were "incompetent," "idiot," and "liar." A majority of the people believe he deliberately "misled" this country into war. His administration deceitfully juxtaposed the words "terrorism" and "Hussein" until 70% of the population believed Hussein was involved in 9/11, and he got the war with Iraq he had wanted since the early days of his presidency.
Lawyers assert he can be impeached because under him America has become a nation that tortures, as well as for illegal wiretapping.
What he should be impeached for is general incompetence and dragging our country's honor through the mud. But obvious and pervasive incompetence, stupidity and deceit are not, unfortunately, grounds for impeachment.
War profiteering by members of this administration and their families should also be examined in the media.
It will be decades, if ever, before America can regain the prestige she enjoyed in the world before Bush.
We may never get out of the economic hole his irresponsible tax cuts for himself, his "class," and corporations have dug for us.
Our children and grandchildren will necessarily be paying higher taxes for his greed driven, destructive policies. Their environments will be less pristine becase Bush and his Republican minions in Congress continue to sell out the environment for short-term benefits to their corporate campaign contributors.
And NOONE can bring back the soldiers who died for profits for Cheney's Halliburton and Bush, Sr.'s Carlyle Group.
But, somehow, it is "ridiculous" that the worst president in history, who repeated yet again yesterday the lie that he went into Iraq because Hussein would not let the inspectors in, should be impeached.
Michael Parenti said "When the people lead, the leaders will follow." But not, apparently, if those leaders are part of the Democratic Leadership Council.
