I'm saddened to have to conclude that, following a good start in the 100 hours agenda, the Democratic Congress looks be failing due to a lack of political courage. The failure of our Democratic leadership is playing out along two intimately related axes: the Iraq war and impeachment of Bush and Cheney.
Our utter defeat on impeachment came as a self-inflicted wound when Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid told the world that impeachment was "off the table". Their hope, perhaps, was to induce the GOP to play ball and advance significant policy gains which could be used to further extend a Democratic majority, and elect a Democratic President, in 2008. I might not go so far as to call such a hope naiveté or, worse, political appeasement, but it was certainly lying down with wolves while acting provocatively like a sheep.
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