"I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
-George W. Bush, January 20, 2001
Ever since Bush swore his oath of office, he has infuriated Democrats constantly with his unique blend of stubborn self-righteousness, cronyism, dishonesty, incompetence, intolerance for dissent, and thirst for unchecked executive power. Various combinations of those recurring themes have pervaded all of Bush's endeavors of the past five years - from Hallburton and Harriet Miers to Michael Brown and Abu Ghraib.
The drumbeat of Bush outrage has desensitized the American public and media, but the revelation that Bush authorized the National Security Agency to spy on Americans without warrants dozens of times in clear and blatant violation of federal statutes explicitly forbidding such searches - not to mention the Fourth Amendment.
George W. Bush has broken the law.
He admitted as much, and
defiantly declared that he will do it again. But worse than that -
Bush has broken the Constitution, and his oath of office. And for that, he must be impeached.
Nobody is above the law - not even the President. Richard Nixon learned that lesson and paid the price. Bill Clinton learned that lesson and paid the price. Now it's Dubya's turn in the barrel.
I watched Condi Rice on Meet the Press last weekend, trying to defend the program to Tim Russert. Or maybe trying is the wrong word. A better way to describe her appearance would be "nauseously trying to dodge every question he asked." Rice usually looks composed and confident, but this was surreal. She was annoyed and impatient and vague with Russert for the duration of the interview, which makes me think that the insiders are more worried about this than they let on.
The administration has used circular logic and outright lies to defend the program, while Alberto Gonzales that Bush was implicitly given Congressional approval to spy on Americans with no oversight; former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and former Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Bob Graham cried foul, saying that Bush had never notified the intelligence committee, and that the concept of giving the Administration domestic war powers was explicitly rejected by Congress.
Some Republicans, an odd coalition of true philosophical conservatives and pragmatic centrists like John Sununu, Chuck Hagel, and Arlen Specter, have been justifiably alarmed. Others, like ineffective Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, and so-called "maverick" John McCain, have fallen into lockstep to defend Bush's declaration, "L'état, c'est moi:"
Read the rest at Swina.com...
