The Gloom & Doom For The Bush Administration

A Dying Presidency by Glenn Greenwald

George Bush's presidency is in deep trouble. He is vulnerable on every front, including within his own increasingly fractious party. While polls have long indicated that all Americans beyond his alarmingly loyal "base" have abandoned him, even that base is beginning to turn on him. None of his old tricks are working, and the new ones are backfiring.

Some time ago, in an e-mail exchange with a fellow writer--a staunch conservative in full support of the Bush administration--i wrote regarding the potential demise of the current administration:

"....I now believe, based on the violation of the Constitution and civil rights, and the usurpation of powers not allotted to him as president, that George W. Bush is destined for impeachment and that this will result in his leaving office in disgrace, taking several members of his entourage with him. Cheney, Gonzalez, Rice and Rumsfeld may all suffer the same fate... and it may extend to the current directors of the CIA, FBI and NSA.

If such comes to fruition, it will both weaken and strengthen our nation. It will weaken our efforts to combat terrorism and international threats because, like the OJ Simpson case, the executive authorities did not do their jobs in the manner required by law. No one doubts that OJ was guilty, and no one doubts that the threat of terror is real. But just as in the OJ case, we have laws that protect our rights and form of government... the failure of the government to act within appropriate limits undermines our freedom and creates a new terror... a terror from within." - Jim Downey - 02 FEB 06

As I blogger, I try to write in a reasoned fashion, focusing on principles rather than ad hominem attacks and mere ideology. Like most people, sometimes the fire inside of me is revealed and my anger about certain claims, events and rhetoric will come out, especially in a blog environment where the pace is fast and furious, and it is easy to get carried away, as well as make several typos. I look for evidence to support my views from references that have a certain level of scholarship and sound analysis. I find Glenn Greenwald's work to be well-reasoned and scholarly. His arguments are clear and based on principles.

That being said, I think that those readers seeking reasoned arguments and discourse are going to see a growing call for either resignation or impeachment. The scandals of this administration and the Republican leadership are pointing to a failure of the ideology that has been touted as a revolution since the Reagan administration. We have seen scandalous grabs for power, end-runs around existing law and the Constitution, and a disregard for international law. We have seen our principles of fairness, justice, due process, redress of grievances and prohibitions against torture cast aside in furtherance of a pre-set, poorly thought out agenda. We have seen doctrines--specifically the Bush Doctrine--that deliberately embroils us in international conflicts that have no basis in national defense.

The Democrats have not risen to occasion either. The Democratic Party is in such disarray and lacking a platform of principled leadership that there are almost no viable candidates to replace the Bush regime.

We are in the midst of a constitutional crisis. We are experiencing a surreptitious form of political oppression. We are facing a political demise that has the potential of rocking the foundation of who we are and the principles that make us American. It is time for us to restore constitutional principles of pluralism that allows all Americans to worship, speak, believe and hope without worry, fear or oppression. Failure to restore fundamental first principles could result in dissolution of our bonds.