A history of repeated injuries

If you know anything about WWP, it's that in matters political he gives wide berth to those he disagrees with. And so it has been with President Bush -- until today.

The obfuscations and political pandering we could live with. [After all, to paraphrase an expert on the subject, you have to live with the president you have, not the one that you want.] Even when the occasional and unclearly unconstitutional matter came along [think: faith-based initiatives] or the swaggering go-it-alone demeanor appeared [think: Kyoto or United Nations], we looked the other way, knowing that the 43rd president's time would come to an end eventually and there would be an opportunity in times future to make things right.

But then came the usurpation of war powers. Lying to Congress. Illegal searches and wiretapping. The suspension of habeas corpus. Renditions. The abandonment of world protocols [think: Geneva Convention]. Secret arrests. Torture. Neglect of duty [think: Hurricane Katrina]. Illegal manipulation of the judicial department. Lying. More lying. And lately, Constitutional ignorance, if not arrogance, in declaring illusory powers of "executive privilege." [Anyone remember Nixon?]

And that's only the short list. [Oh, and nevermind the impending bankruptcy of our government, the abuse of the military, the bloated growth of state power, and the blind eye to individual rights -- all quaint relics of a G.O.P. now pretty much unrecognizable to any who would call themselves founders or disciples of "the party of Lincoln" ... but, we digress.]

Like many, we've "gone along to get along," holding fast to that perhaps uniquely American warp and woof that has drilled into each of us the egalitarian idea that our institutions and ideals are more important than the names and desires of the individuals who people our government, and that in time, no matter how odious or egregious the political act, it all will work out in the end, if for no other reason because of our commonly held foundational belief  that "our system works."

But not today.

Today is the last day of the George W. Bush presidency. History books might not record it as so. But WWP suspects he is not alone is in joining the throngs of Americans who today are finally signing off on what is clearly the most insular president in our history, one who has now willfully and very transparently chosen to flout the rule of men over the rule of law. Enough, we say.

President Bush's timing could not have been better, actually. Two-hundred thirty-one years ago -- pretty much as near to this day and to this time of the year as you are reading this now -- our nation's founders struggled over many of the same issues. That we became a democratic republic, and thrived in the ensuing 23 decades or so thereafter, can only be described as providence. How we now opt to deal with the present situation will sketch the limits of our faith, not just in ourselves, but in each other.

So, choose, each one of you. Which is the least objectionable: Despot 1 or Despot 2?

As for WWP: With love for his country fully imbued, and with his hand firmly upon his heart, he very deeply regrets to say that for the sake of our republic, and for our democracy, the present George has simply got to go.

It's time to impeach the motherfucker.

Comments

[Jack Bog]

Impeachment would be too good for him. Enjoy hell, Chimpy... it will be as bad as your wasted life, only worse.

[Isaac Laquedem]

If the appellate court reverses Mr. Libby's conviction, and orders a new trial, and the new trial doesn't result in a sentence for Mr. Libby until after Mr. Bush leaves office, does his commutation of the sentence become moot?

One practical result of commuting Mr. Libby's sentence is that he might drop his appeal, pay the fine, and not have the story rehashed in a new trial during the election year of 2008. But that would be a political consequence, and I'm sure the president would never have taken mere partisan politics into account in making this decision. No. Of course not.