In December of 2000, a questionable decision by the highest court in the land allowed George W. Bush to become President of the United States after losing both the popular and electoral votes. Suspicions were raised, voter disenfranchisement was found in Florida and elsewhere, but ultimately nothing happened. Bush continued to be president.
In March of 2003, George W. Bush unleashed "shock and awe" on a country that had nothing to do with Al Qaeda (except that the two hated each other), had no weapons of mass destruction, did not have a real nuclear weapons program, and had nothing to do with 9/11. All these things were eventually discovered, yet at the time Mr. Bush and his administration still used them as excuses for the shock and awe. There were large protests all around the world. A few politicians even spoke out at this time. But ultimately nothing happened. The Iraq war continued and led to the deaths of thousands of American troops and tens of thousands of Iraqis.
In April of 2004, it was discovered that certain military police in Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad had tortured and abused prisoners. The abuse seemed to be implicity condoned by Mr. Bush's Secretary of Defense, Donald H. Rumsfeld, and other top officials. There was outrage in the US and abroad, and the fact that this happened fueled the insurgency in Iraq. The horrific images became painfully etched in the American public's collective memory. But nothing happened to Mr. Bush. He weaseled his way out of it, and one of the whistleblowers was transferred to a sinecure position where he would not be likely to expose any more horrific truths of US foreign policy.
In February of 2005, a fake reporter using a fake name, who doubled as an anti-gay, gay male prostitute for the Marine Corps, was allowed access into the White House press room in order to softball questions to Mr. Bush and his robotic press secretary and use his floor time to smear Democrats. There was outrage in the Blogosphere, but the story hardly cracked the mainstream media, and the American public hardly knew about it. So ultimately, nothing happened.
In May of 2005, the Downing Street Memo was uncovered, which indicated that Mr. Bush and his British allies wanted the "intelligence and facts [to be] fixed around the policy." Despite the worrying implications for Mr. Bush's honesty in the build-up to war, the Downing Street Memo failed to sway the American public. Once again, this issue was raised in the Blogosphere and by a few committed congresspersons, but nothing happened to Mr. Bush. Polls were showing more and more disapproval, and some even showed that people felt he should be impeached if he lied about the Iraq war. Things were beginning to happen, but nothing that would strike the fear of God into Mr. Bush. He still had his PR machine. He was still President.
In September of 2005, an emergency management agency marginalized by Mr. Bush and led by a former horse racing commissioner with no prior experience in emergency management who focused on his fashion as Katrina approached the Gulf Coast failed to adequately manage the dire emergency in Katrina's wake. Mr. Bush rolled up his sleeves, took a few photo ops, and starred in a theatrical performance in Jackson Square where he pretended to care about Katrina's victims. The mainstream media had begun to get their critical feet wet, and Mr. Bush's approval ratings really took a dive. But nothing happened to Mr. Bush, as he continued to be president.
In October of 2005, Fitzmas came. I. Lewis Libby was indicted, but Karl Rove escaped indictment. Mr. Bush was even safer from any threats of justice. His approval rating remained low, but still, the story did not persist in the mainstream media. For much of the American public, nothing had happened. Many people I talked to at the time (who considered themselves liberal) did not even know who Patrick Fitzgerald was. They sure knew who Monica Lewinsky was.
In December of 2005, Mr. Bush became the first president to admit to an impeachable offense, namely breaking the law by authorizing phone surveillance of Americans without obtaining FISA court orders. Mr. Bush appeared proud that he broke the law. His justice department seemed so proud of his breach of the law that it figured it could get away with a bogus argument as to why it wasn't a breach. More and more observers -- conservative and liberal -- stressed the seriousness and illegality of this brazen action.
And, since I'm beyond sick of every other offense of Bush's misadministration being swept under the rug, despite the great efforts of Kossacks, other bloggers, and some brave media figures and congresspersons, all I can say is:
Something better happen this time.