Much has been made by now of the Bush administration's sexed-up case for invading Iraq.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich, the former Democratic presidential candidate from Ohio, went so far last month as to seek impeachment hearings against Bush for misleading the country into war on false pretenses.
Funny how the possibility of impeachment gets taken less seriously here than the last time it came up, but maybe it's better this way - President Cheney? Fear!
Regardless, the war has become a huge liability for Republicans, with many in Congress opting to retire this year rather than stick around on what they anticipate will be a losing side in November.
Ironically, despite the Iraq war's lack of popularity, national security from terrorism remains the one issue where Republicans still beat Democrats in polls, though it's been sidelined for some time now.
For presumed Republican presidential nominee John McCain's part, one of his advisors remarked last week that a terrorist attack in the United States would "be a big advantage" for his campaign. Indeed, anything to get the people worried about security - it was key to Bush's re-election, after all.
Still, McCain's campaign would apparently best prefer Bush just shut up, hide and take his pitiful approval ratings with him.
Mr. McCain needn't worry though - George has him covered, and is already hard at work on returning the War on Terror to the limelight.
At this moment the United States has commandos on the ground pursuing "high-level targets" in a covert bid to agitate the leaders of that long sought-after connection between Iraq and Afghanistan that we know as Iran.
This from Seymour Hersh, who reports in the current New Yorker about the Presidential Finding that set into motion the aforementioned operation in Iran.
Hersh says the idea here is if our soldiers capture or kill the right guys, Iran's government will flip out, and in doing so provide some kind of casus belli - an excuse for us to launch larger military incursions into Iran.
Never mind last year's National Intelligence Estimate - the combined report of America's military experts - which determined Iran abandoned its nuclear ambitions years ago. For that matter, never mind the immorality of trying to conceal this first blow, in order to market the ensuing war as defensive.
This kind of thing is nothing new.
The Bush administration already demonstrated not only contempt for the rule of law, but blatant disregard for America's future when it led the country into the nightmare of waste, destruction, and national shame we know as the Iraq War.
Perhaps the only thing more disgraceful is that we're allowing the man responsible to finish out his term in office.
Speaking of which, let's get back to why Dennis Kucinich's effort to impeach Bush failed. Two words: Nancy Pelosi.
Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, actually signed off on Bush's latest adventure in Iran. How could she impeach the president for doing exactly what she continues to authorize him to do?
The thinking here, Hersh told NPR's Terry Gross on Monday, is that most Democrats in Congress figure they're already in such great shape for the coming election that any rocking of the national security boat risks throwing some advantage away to Republicans.
In other words, even though Bush will be remembered as one of the most despised presidents in American history, he continues to terrorize people into complicity.
Here in lies perhaps the greatest crime of his administration - Not only did he do all of these incredibly destructive, wasteful things, and drag America's reputation along without shame, but he forced us to act like it was right.
Daniel Potter is a senior journalism and Spanish major.
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