Regarding Impeachment: [View All]

Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon and declared that the Soviets didn't dominate Poland! Even back in those pre-Net days, we all heard about LBJ's comment that Gerald had played too many football games without a helmet. Chevy Chase built a career out of lampooning Ford's clumsiness. Yet Carter went from a 33 % lead at the time of the convention to a bare victory of 50.1% of the popular vote in the 1976 election.

Imagine this scenario:

Somehow, both Bush and Cheney are impeached.

Option 1: Nancy Pelosi becomes president.
The Republicans have 12 -18 months to spread the meme that the impeachment was nothing but pay-back for Clinton, that if only Bush had been left alone, the US would have won in Iraq, etc, etc.
Meanwhile, unless Nancy withdraws her name, the Democrats eviscerate each other trying to decide whether to go with Nancy or someone else in 2008. All the while, the Iraq problem bubbles away. No more US troops may be dying there, but sure as hell people are dying every day.

Option 2: A Republican becomes President
Possibilities: he somehow charms the American people; he convinces the American people that he knows how to win the war, he goes into the 2008 election as a sitting president. Along the way, he convinces everyone that Bush was a fluke, that the GOP is A-OK.

It'd be very satisfying to impeach these bastards. However, there is no guarantee that impeachment equals conviction. Moreover, are we willing to trade an impeachment now for possible Republican victories in 2008 and 2012?

How about this plan:

1. Focus on getting our people out of Iraq.

2. Drag Bush's buddies before Congressional Committees every day between now and Election Day 2008 to remind people how thou=roughly they've looted the country.

3. Make sure that in people's minds, Republican Party = George Bush & Dick Cheney.

4. After winning the 2008 election, haul Bush and Cheney into a real court and send their asses to jail. Impeachment and conviction followed by a retirement to the lecture circuit is too good for these guys.