Among all the falsehhoods of this maladministration, these have nearly driven me to distraction. The fact that Bush -- "leader of the free world" and commander-in-chief of the most powerful military force in the history of the world -- had twice, in public, in the presence of foreign dignitaries, uttered these statements without any consequences, without any evidence that the media and other national leaders were troubled (or even that very many of them had noticed)was simply intolerable. It's also frustrating beyond belief that we the people have allowed this man to be so completely insulated withint his cocoon, that even compulsive news junkies who are far better informed than the public at large simply have no way of knowing whether this was the most blatant of lies or the most conclusive evidence of criminal negligence imaginable. Not that it matters, really. But thank you for the documentation. I was beginning to wonder if I had imagined this.

And I am completely serious about my inability to determine if Bush lied. Of course I know that he has lied, will lie, and feels entitled to lie if it seems convenient to him. But we also know, from the Downing Street memo and other sources, that Bush was hoping to provoke Sadaam into providing an excuse for the invasion that had been decided upon in advance. I think the inference is inescapable that Bush hoped that Sadaam would not let the U.N. inspectors into Iraq. Is he so out of touch that he never knew what was going on? I don't buy that. But I do wonder if his ingrained habits of self-justification are so strong that he quickly came to believe that what he had wished for -- Sadaam defying the demand to let inspectors in -- was what had actually happened.

Surely even at this late hour it is possible for some Republican politicans who used to have integrity, used to believe the nostrums about putting the country above all else, used to have some principles, to rise to the defense of the Constitution and of real national security and rein in this horror show. Can't any of them see that stopping the Cheney cabal is necessary to avoid multiplying the calamaties we have already produced?

IMPEACH CHENEY FIRST.

How can you -- how can anyone -- overlook the junior senator from Oklahoma, Tom Coburn, M.D. Surely Wacky Tom, as he's affectionately known among Sooner Dems, is the most bizarre, entertaining figure in the Senate.