Fascinoma

One thing that bothers me all the time is the way politicians talk as if their primary job were to defend the safety and security of the American people. That way lies dictatorship, as we have seen, because the State may decide to arm itself with absolute power over even the most private matters in order to protect the people from themselves, or each other. Missing here is any memory of the oath of office:

The oath to be taken by the president on first entering office is specified in Article II, Section 1, of the Constitution:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.

The sorts of people who thought one should 'live free or die' wrote that oath. They knew that we had more to fear from government than from each other. The current adminsitration doesn't recognize that oath at all -- all apparently doing all they can to suspend, not defend the Constitution, in order to make us "safe." W doesn't believe in the rule of law at all -- he answers to a "Higher Father."

It seems to me that this failure is an impeachable dereliction. That impeachment is unlikely makes Paul Simon seem a sage, "When I look back at all the crap I learned in high school, it's a wonder I can think at all."

The failure to impeach, fully invesitgate, prosecute and wholly repudiate Nixon led to Reagan. The failure to impeach, fully invesitgate, prosecute and wholly repudiate Reagan led to Bush 1. The failure to impeach, fully invesitgate, prosecute and wholly repudiate Bush 1 led to Bush 2. The failure to impeach, fully invesitgate, prosecute and wholly repudiate Bush 2 will lead to the death of deomcracy. There are a thousand Cheneys, Rumsfelds, Rices and Roves out there.