We may find out later today whether the Bush Administration really is unraveling or just whether it gets to within a hair's breath of doing so. If there are several major indictments on the Plame matter and they are on the substantive matter of using high-security information for political purposes, it may do it. But if it's anti-clamatic, Bush may yet skate on this one as he has on everything else in his life. And look at the list in the 2nd paragraph from the end: if none of that happens, then Bush has truly skated.

And, what does it mean for the administration to implode? Whether we like it or not, they are in power for 3+ more years. Unlike when Nixon resigned, there's no Jerry Ford to take over and bring us out of "our long national nightmare."

"..To me anyway, this looks like a potential critical-mass moment. Of course, there are a few missing elements of no small import. The most obvious is an opposition party. The Democrats are essentially nowhere to be seen. In fact, whether or not they even remain a party is, at this point, open to serious question. Their leading candidate for president, Hillary Clinton, still wants to send more (nonexistent) American troops into Iraq and, like most other Democrats in Congress, has remained painfully mum -- this passes for a strategy, however craven -- on almost everything that matters at the moment. Even on the issue of torture, it's a Republican Senator, John McCain, who is spearheading resistance to the administration..."

Um, I think you are mistaken about the Democrats being silent, and you are certainly mistaken about 'whether or not they even remain a party...". Had you said that we are not being covered by the media, you would have the right of the matter. But, from John Conyers, to Louise Slaughter, to Howard Dean (especially), Democrats have been speaking out strongly and unequivocally about the insanity of this administration, in every area. I think it is also a media-manufactured myth to believe that HRC is our leading candidate for president - leading according to whom? Not according to the grassroots who got Howard Dean elected DNC Chair - unanimously.

The Democratic Party is not what the media thinks we are. In 2 years, we have to do, ethically and powerfully, what the right took 40 years to do. There are folks, even within the party, who haven't figured that out yet, so I guess journalists can be forgiven for not seeing the sea change.

But please make no mistake about it - that sea change is here.

Thank you.

Terri MacMillan

Chair,

Democrats Abroad Japan

My wife had a dream about 18 mos ago. She came downstairs in the morning and said, "George Bush is going to be Charles I."

For those of you not up on the history of the English monarchy, Charles I was the first Enghlish monarch to be put on trial for treason and it lead to his execution. This event is one of the most famous in Stuart England's history - and one of the most controversial. No law could be found in all England�s history that dealt with the trial of a monarch so the order setting up the court that was to try Charles was written by a Dutch lawyer called Issac Dorislaus and he based his work on an ancient Roman law which stated that a military body (in this case the government) could legally overthrow a tyrant. The execution of Charles, lead to an eleven year gap in the rule of the Stuarts (1649 to 1660) and it witnessed the rise to supreme power of Oliver Cromwell - whose signature can be clearly seen on the death warrant of Charles.

Did I mention I voted for Al Gore?

Getting The Indictments off the front page--more than idle speculation???:

Any Vegas odds on a TERRORIST ATTACK in the next few weeks?

I really believe the possiblity is worth examining. Bush could use one to boost his ratings and the terrorists need Bush around to boost their own. He's terrorism's best recruiter. Wish we still had Richard Clarke around.

(Best for Bush would be such an attack plus an outbreak of Bird Flu plus another hurricane. Might put him back in the post 9/11 days.)

Liberals around the country are poking out of their burrows like Meerkats, warily searching the skies for signs of Hawks ready to take off their heads.