Actually, this pretty much describes my point of view.
See, I’m a Bush hater who, up until a week ago, wasn’t willing to go entirely along with the impeachment crowd. I was sympathetic, certainly, and would have welcomed the removal of this gang of crooks from power, even though I was somewhat leery of what seemed to me to be self-justifying efforts that were infected with the remembered sting of Clinton-era persecution. The Iraq debacle, horrifying as it’s been, didn’t push me over; gross incompetence is not a high crime. Ditto the shockingly inept handling of Katrina. The warrantless wiretaps were a clear violation of FISA, but couched in a totally conventional grab for expanded Presidential power, which every Oval Office occupant has pursued. I was tempted to tip by the Valerie Plame affair, but events and evidence were so muddied that it was impossible to tell what had really happened. And so on. Without question, the worst, and most harmful, Presidential administration of my lifetime, and probably the last hundred years… but still not worthy of being impeached.
But politicizing law enforcement? Turning federal prosecutors into an arm of the campaign machine? That, to me, is an utterly inexcusable abuse of power. In my mind, and according to my view of the American political system, you can be as much of an asshole as you want to be… but you have to give the people a fair shot at tossing you out if they disapprove. The moment you try to subvert the electoral system, it is incumbent upon us, for sake of the national honor, to strip you of your power and ban you from office. There is no worse offense than that.
And I would argue that even deceiving the nation into an unjust, immoral war isn’t as bad. Why? Given that enough of us were happy to swallow the obvious bullshit that was being used to sell the war and go along with it, in my mind, that means that on some level it was a reflection of the national will to go kick some brown-skinned ass, regardless of how little sense it made. That mess cannot be laid solely at the feet of Bush & Co.; it’s the fault, and the failing, of all of us, collectively. We must all, as a nation, be judged for it.
But undermining the mechanism by which we sift through our candidates and designate our choice of leadership: that stain is entirely on the hands of Bush and his minions. That is a blade directly to the heart of the American character, and it cannot, and must not, be forgiven.
As of about a week ago, when it became clear what was really going on, I finally reached my personal tipping point. It may seem strange, given everything else the nation has endured while the current bunch of liars and fools have been holding the reins, that such a comparatively minor issue should be judged so significant, but from my perspective, the kind of transgression, and the intent behind it, makes all the difference.
A month ago, I wouldn’t have said this, but I now believe that this administration must be removed from power, as soon as is feasible.