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My problem with this piece is similar to what I've found in other pieces by writer Michelle Goldberg. Midway through the second page, Goldberg quotes Bruce Fein, a former associate deputy attorney general during Ronald Reagan's presidency. Fein is quoted (it is unclear if this is from an opinion piece in the not-leftist Washington Times or from an interview with Goldberg) thus:
Fein says Congress should probe Bush on whether he plans to keep "skating the edge" of federal law by trying to concentrate power in the executive branch. "That's the key. It's that probing that's essential to knowing whether we're dealing with somebody who's really a dangerous guy. If he maintains this disregard or contempt for the coordinate branches of government, it's that conception of an omnipotent presidency that makes the occupant a dangerous person. We just can't sacrifice our liberties for ourselves and our posterity by permitting someone who thinks the state is him, and nobody else, to continue in office."
Immediately, Goldberg follows with this statement:
In fact, though, that may be exactly what America is permitting Bush to do. "Politically, I see no possibility that impeachment will succeed," says Jonathan Entin, a professor of political science and law at Case Western Reserve University.
Goldberg continues with Entin opining on whether or not the Democratic minority can recruit enough Constitution-defending Republicans to the cause of impeachment (Entin doesn't think so).
How does ms. Goldberg know that Americans lack the political will to impeach George W. Bush? Does she have a crystal ball? Or is it that she buys into the mainstream media's conventional wisdom (which may or may not be rooted in fact) that it was OK to impeach President Clinton over lying about a consensual sex act, but it's not OK to impeach George W. Bush for crapping in the Constitution and behaving like some tinhorn despot in a banana republic? Which one is it?
Simply put, we're pretty early in the timeframe for how this is going to play out. My guess is that a core group of Constitution-loving Republicans understand that Bush is a threat to the survival of our republic, and will do the right thing by cooperating with Democrats in getting rid of this dictator-wannabe, along with the rest of his Constitution-shredding neocon team, and will replace them with someone a little more in keeping with American democratic tradition. Perhaps that's more a wish than a guess.
Anyway, whenever I see Michelle Goldberg's byline in Salon, I know I'm reading the work of someone who might be better off moving to a venue more consistent with her quality and style of journalism, like Fox News or National Review Online.
