Sharks or Asses: The Potential Impeachment of George W. Bush

Posted by Cardozo

That is the question facing Democrats, Bush, when they walk into the chambers of Congress in January as the new majority party. When Nancy Pelosi wakes up in the morning on her first day as Speaker of the House, dons her snappy business suit and casts a final glimpse in the mirror before heading out to change the world, what will she see?

If she sees a shark, Bush, you are in very serious trouble. Sharks, as you know, are attracted to the smell of blood, and yours currently flows from a thousand self-inflicted wounds. If Pelosi does see a shark, you will only have yourself to blame for the inevitable circus sideshow to follow. Well, yourself and the GOP establishment who dramatically lowered the bar for impeachment back in 1998.

Of course, there are other possibilities. Ms. Pelosi may be in no mood for this fight, just yet. Her mirror’s image might present the mighty Donkey: the aptly plodding, moody, stubborn symbol of the Democratic Party. This would be fortunate for you, Bush, because the Donkey would probably rather keep you around, now that the country has seen you without any clothes.

Which begs the question: what should Nancy Pelosi see? As a stateswoman, as a leader in her party, as a citizen and as a human being, what is the right course of action? The stakes couldn’t be higher.

Progressive voices are split on the issue of impeachment. (See here, here, and here for some takes from the liberal blogs.) The question, of course, is strategic rather than substantive, because progressives are rightly united in the belief that adequate causes for impeachment exist, and in plenty. The founders created impeachment to prevent the accumulation of excessive powers by the Executive Branch, which describes, to a tee, your particular brand of high crimes and misdemeanors.

The ramifications of an impeachment battle for the nation are the real issue, and because of this I believe you should stay in office (unless of course, you decide to resign out of contrition, which is just fine). Yes, you have tried, and in many cases succeeded, in obliterating the checks and balances that were erected to avoid tyranny. Yes, I believe you deliberately manipulated the American people into supporting a foolish nation-building scheme. Yes, you have shown utter disregard for laws protecting our cherished civil liberties.

But you have not done so in a vacuum. Your expansion of executive powers happened right before our eyes and, in the case of the Iraq invasion, with the explicit, bipartisan consent of Congress. In so many ways our country was not prepared for 9/11. We are a politically immature nation. This immaturity should be the focus of a national trial in which we the people impeach a select few of our prevailing national ethics. For one, the mythology of “good versus evil” that fosters xenophobia among the public and diplomatic impatience among leaders of both parties. For another, the “look out for #1” mantra that impedes any meaningful national dialogue about political issues.

These cultural idiosyncrasies, more than your perfidious power plays, Bush, are ultimately responsible for the mess we are in. And when Nancy Pelosi and other congressional Democrats look in their mirrors come January, I hope they see themselves not as sharks and not as donkeys, but as leaders who will turn the mirror back on all of us and usher in a national day of reckoning to answer the question: how did we get to this point?

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