The Domenici/Wilson calls, in addition to being attempts at interfering with a federal prosecution and therefore obstruction of justice, were almost certainly aimed at using false corruption charges to unlawfully change the outcome of a federal election. So make that five crimes.

What's more, the "loyal Bushies" who continue to serve as US attorneys have been prosecuting Democratic candidates and officeholders far out of proportion to their representation in the government - the rate is eight investigations of Democrats for every one investigation of a Republican. This is an unprecedented abuse of the legal system for the purpose of subverting our electoral system. Which is, of course, yet another crime.

Not to mention that such an act lays the cornerstone for dictatorship, which our supposedly freedom-loving Republicans should abhor. How odd that instead, they seem to crave a one-party state.

Look at that - they disappeared again. Of course I'm sure they'll pop up somewhere else soon, probably under different aliases, to spew their lies all over again.

Sleazy little cowards, the bunch of 'em.

Why do the words "Captain America" keep coming into my mind?

C. Mosby, I wouldn't holding my breath waiting for a response from Bob (aka "Bob the Tomato"). He'll just disappear once you disprove his lies and surface elsewhere, repeating the exact same bullshit.

Here, check out this thread where once again, Bob suddenly disappeared when faced with evidence:

http://letters.salon.com/politics/war_room/2007/03/19/bushrole/view/index.html

Note that that thread dealt with the same issue. So Bob can't claim that he didn't know that he was lying, unless he simply spewed his GOP talking points there and never went back.

He's a sleazy, lying little Republican troll. And a coward to boot, like all of them.

What's that, a wig made out of thousand dollar bills? :)

A former newspaper book reviewer who knows about the old Ace Doubles? I am totally floored!

I mean...isn't SF still considered a literary ghetto?

I think you've overestimated Hiatt's honesty. He's still a tool of the right.

"The coverup will have succeeded" tells us a lot. I believe it sets up a follow-up later in which we'll start getting inundated by the right-wing noise machine that since the coverup has succeeded, it's time to give up on the issue. What can you do? The coverup was too good! They covered up everything, so there's nothing to see here! No evidence! So we might as well all give up and move to something else, like the danger of the Democrats over-reaching in Congressional investigations. It must be true; David Broder says so (daily!).

And notice that Hiatt's not blaming the President, nor any human being at all (except Gonzales, and that was unavoidable) - no, it's the "coverup" that's at fault.

Incidentally, where's the podcast? I couldn't find it on the site. Is it up yet?

This sort of article really bothers me.

Most of the media, the punditry (who are mostly right-wingers anyway), and apparently a large percentage of the US population went insane as a result of the events of 9/11, and somehow that makes us ALL responsible for what the Bush administration has done?

No. Don't blame ME for their insanity. I didn't vote for Bush. I wrote to my congressmen and urged them to vote against the war authorization. I told everyone I could exactly what I thought would happen as a result of this insanity - and exactly what use Bush would make of the war.

Hell, I even wrote a "Letter to My Future Self" on October 19, 2001 which was published on several progressive websites. It's sadly accurate.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/01/10/19_letter.html

So please don't imply that I bear any responsibility whatsoever for this disaster. I realize that this assignation of blame is on a high level, a sort of failure of national character, but I don't accept any part in that character - and neither should anyone else who exercised basic common sense and saw how all this was inevitably going to end up. Which leaves out Senator Clinton, incidentally.

She bears some responsibility for this war, and of the ruination of this country at the hands of the Bush cabal. So do the people who voted for Bush and the Republicans. Bush himself, and his backers, bear the greatest responsibility of all.

But I don't.

Newsweek reports that the bird's approval rating is 97%.

It was last seen flying in the direction of the Lincoln Memorial, with a shotgun-wielding Vice-President Cheney in hot pursuit. Later reports that Lincoln's face is now missing have not been confirmed.

At what point did Salon turn into Slate?

I really loathe Hillary, and despite being a died-in-the-wool liberal Democrat I'd honestly have to consider writing in a candidate or voting third party if she were on the Presidential ticket. Mind you, I would only feel free to do that because I live in a state where Satan himself would win if he were a Democrat.

That said, it's probably unfair to knock her for quoting Goldwater. For one thing, she was a Goldwater volunteer when she was young - itself not a testament to her sincerity as a Democrat, but it does make her quote at least understandable.

Plus, I have to admit that my personal view of Goldwater has softened a bit over the years, thanks to the insanity of the current crop of Republicans (and I include Reagan in that category). He had a lot of bad ideas, but compared to Bush or any of the current Republican candidates he was a pillar of virtue, integrity, and competence. Any one of them (except Ron Paul, I suspect) would expel Goldwater from the party instantly, if he were to show up today.

Libertarian Republicans are pretty much the abused spouse of the party these days, and there aren't many of them left. But in hindsight, they were a hell of a lot less dangerous than the religious-right maniacs and war-profiteering sociopaths who are calling the shots today.