I am generally in agreement with most of Blumenthal's articles, but I think in this one too much credit is given to Cheney, Rummy, et al. I honestly believe that the last ditch tactics that are and will be employed by Rove at Bush's behest are evidence that these guys know what is coming. Treason, perjury, conspiracy, violation of civil rights, contempt of congress, fraud, and potentially European Union indictments for kidnapping, torture, attempted murder, murder, and war crimes are all on the menu.

The Libby charges are small potatoes compared to what could be in store for Bush's inner circle if an ambitious prosecutor lines up with a willing congress and starts pulling records for KBR (Halliburton), Blackwater, the Carlisle Group, or other shady entities whose members will start singing the moment they are faced with serious time in the federal pen.

I don't believe Cheney and Rummy are trying to secure a legacy, or that this is some grand attempt to ensure that the policies and influence of this administration extend beyond 2008. Rather, I think this is a serious attempt to protect top members of a crime syndicate that puts La Cosa Nostra to shame. I am completely serious- the ONLY thing anyone in this pack of thieves has been fired for is a violation of "Omerta", the oath of silence. All other crimes are just family business.

Cheney may only last a few years, but many of the key players here, including W himself, are only in their 50's or early 60's. Even if full disclosure is never made in the US, these clowns could be in a situation where if they step off a plane anywhere in the world in the next 25 years, they could be hauled in by Interpol and dragged before a court in any EU member state (for involvement in the extraordinary rendition of EU citizens). At this point they're just trying to cover their increasingly exposed backsides, and any thoughts of historical remembrance are limited to their own hope that history doesn't remember them as American Pinochets, Milosevics, Pol Pots, or just plain convicted felons. Make no mistake, these rats are cornered and increasingly dangerous.

My own hope for restoring some semblance of resepct for the rule of law will be a searchable database in the future, akin to a sex offender registry, where I can search among the following names to find out if a traitor lives in my neighborhood:

Addington, Bush, Bybee, Cambone, Card, Cheney, Chertoff, Feith, Gonzales, Hayden, Libby, Miller, Rice, Rove, Rumsfeld, Tenet, Wolfowitz, Yoo, and who knows how many others.

Another possibility in addition to a scorched earth approach to the midterm elections is that we will soon see the wheels of the presidential pardon machine start to spin. Should there be a real change in control of congress, we could see a wave of pre-emptive pardons during the lame duck session and subsequent adjournment. Shame certainly would not prevent W from pulling this kind of stunt, and his predilection for recess appointments to positions requiring senate confirmation certainly shows a willingness to bypass congress for even routine matters.

If the Nixon debacle taught Cheney and Rummy anything, it's that the pardons should kick in before the underlings start to sing about their bosses. I hope I'm wrong, but like everyone else, I have underestimated the degree to which this administration is willing to show naked contempt for the rule of law.

I have not yet overestimated their ruthlessnes- For instance, I do not believe that Karl Rove actually relieves stress by stomping on bunnies on the white house lawn.

I assumed from the title that you would touch on the need for Bush to service the last remainder of his base: the religious right. In smaller red state cities and towns across America, the ministers of flocks who trooped to the polls en masse and 100%, are being promised that it is just a matter of perhaps weeks before their hero triggers the Rapture they require.

Remember that the sale of millions of the Left Behind book series, written by GOP dirty tricks operative Tim LaHaye (nursing sour grapes over loss of his cause/obsession against gay rights), set the scene for the largest sustained mass psychosis religious episode in American history. When such crackpot endtimes theories were popularized in the 1920s, organized religion largely helped dispel them. But as Jimmy Carter warned in a NY Times op-ed just before the Iraq invasion, this time the scam was supported by none other than the Southern Baptist convention, which is the largest Protestant denomination after Catholicism in the US. My own family were referred to the Left Behind series by their Southern Baptist mega-church, which held hugely attended study classes/Iraq War rallies that treated this fiction as prophesy.

It remains to be seen whether Bush is a part of the national endtimes dementia. In his recent best seller "American Theocracy" Kevin Phillips estimates it may be 30% of the public, and you can count on that same 30% being the Bush supportive hold-outs. What they are holding out for is the end of the world. Will their hero deliver?

The president and the administration aren't worried because they know they have the trump card: they have friends in significant places who fix elections. They don't see trouble coming in November, and they feel confident that their policies will continue after '08 because they believe they have a way to stay in power. I am afraid that they really do.

Blumenthal writes: "Bush's radicalism bears little resemblance to McKinley's stalwart conservatism except for his friendly orientation toward big business."

Actually, Bush is following in McKinley's footsteps in a very significant way. McKinley "liberated" Cuba and the Phillipines from Spanish tyranny with the assistance of phony provocations and a lazy, cynical media establishment.