What we are hearing is the sound of the elites catching up with the rest of the nation.
It is wonderful that they are starting to do their job and also important that there be a fair examination of the elite's role as enablers up till now.

The words "sloppy" and "screw-up" strike me as rather generous. Until evidence proves otherwise, it seems naive to assume that these scandals are the product of mistakes rather than rampant corruption. This adminstration has done nothing to earn the benefit of doubt on this score.

It seems like whatever the Nixon adminstration did, this administration has been shown to have repeated it and improved upon it. But not quite everything yet. My suggestion, if you want to get a jump on the next scandal, is to find something that the Nixon administration did that Bush hasn't been accused of yet. Do a little digging and you're sure to find that they've been busy busy.

The administration is apparently a big, expensive (to the taxpayers) criminal enterprise.

I think Bill Maher said it best last week:

"You know, it's literally hard to keep up with the sheer volume of scandals in the Bush Administration. Which is why I like to download the latest scandal right onto my iPod. That way, I can catch up on this week's giant fuck-up on my drive in to work. In fact, Bush has so many scandals, he could open a chain of "Bush Scandal and Fuck-up" theme restaurants. "Ooh, should I get the Harriet Miers meatloaf or the Katrina crab cakes? "

-L-

It's not a "Meta Screw-up," Kevin, it's "Absolute Corruption." It's where the absolute power these people arrogated to themselves necessarily led.

I have noted before a long-standing personal concern that the sheer size and scope of this administration's corruption is so massive that the public's eyes will gradually glaze over and they will walk away because it is simply too large to comprehend and impossible for most folks to believe that all of this could be the product of a single President and his team of loyal acolytes. But 'tis true m'lords. Sadly, 'tis true.

"Infinite Mess"?

I fear we are entering a dangerous period in our history, during which each succeeding Administration will be under relentless attack by partisans, eager to prove the Administration is corrupt, inept, and the likely source of the heartbreak of psoriasis.

The Parties will no longer have principles that can be recognized or argued. Instead, everyone will have a rap sheet.

This author is the kind of person who describes Arlen Specter as 'a maverick'.

She certainly seems to think every part of a Democratic controlled hearing is contemptible.

The words "sloppy" and "screw-up" strike me as rather generous.

Yes, I prefer "massive criminal conspiracy."

Forget impeachment -- it's about time to bring RICO charges....

My suggestion, if you want to get a jump on the next scandal, is to find something that the Nixon administration did that Bush hasn't been accused of yet.

You know, it wouldn't suprise me if Bush was planning to invade Cambodia. At this point it really wouldn't.....

swinty: It seems like whatever the Nixon adminstration did, this administration has been shown to have repeated it and improved upon it.

Hardly. The Nixon administration was crooked but basically competent. This administration is both crooked and incompetent.

On of the things that has not (yet) received the attention it deserves is the Bush administration's destruction of the infrastructure of the Federal government. The substitution of politics for policy has dismantled the processes by which the government works.

It is interesting to note that governmental processes were so sturdy that the government was able to continue functioning for about 3 years without any direction being given. However, in the 4th year momentum slowed, in the 5th it stopped, and now federal processes are falling apart. That corruption, incompetence, and self-interest have filled the vacuum should not be surprising.

If we learn nothing else from this disaster we should remember the time to complete destruction of a functioning government: 5 years.

We must not forget the collusion of the Republican Congresses and the increasingly politicized judiciary in this destruction. The judiciary, particularly, will remain after the administration and the Congress have been repaired. We are in for a long, painful process of rebuilding a governmental structure built over more than a century. Let us not delude ourselves it will be easy - or quick.

Unfortunately the link you provide to the New Republic is subscription only. The opening paragraphs are attacks on Patrick Leahey.

The 24 lines they do provide are assualts on Leahey. I guess I will take your word for it that it gets a lot better and is worth reading but first 24 lines are not especially enlightening or promising.

No one could have anticipated that electing democrats to Congress would result in such scandalous conduct in the executive branch.

"The Democrats are just grasping at straws to divert attention away from the fact that they have no ideas."

That's great AH! The big hefty behemoth of Republican corruption and power abuse is no worse than the light-weight straw-child of the Democratic idea vacuum? How 'bout you trot those tykes out to the playground and see how they balance out on the teeter-totter.

...Like others are saying about many in the media: They are more concerned about Democratic investigations than Republican corruption.

It's not worth reading. It's faux-Tom Wolfe.

She probably thinks Dennis Miller is a genius.

and carefully designed plan seems to have "just melted into oblivion with this sloppy administration,

They're not sloppy - they're evil. They are the worst administration in history, on purpose

You know, it wouldn't suprise me if Bush was planning to invade Cambodia.

That's right! In retaliation for Iran holding those British sailors!

"I fear we are entering a dangerous period in our history, during which each succeeding Administration will be under relentless attack by partisans, eager to prove the Administration is corrupt, inept, and the likely source of the heartbreak of psoriasis. "

I take it this is troll-speak for "Even I can no longer defend the conduct of the Bush Administration?" I'm sorry you voted for this mess, but spare us your buyer's remorse.

Its beginning to look a lot like Fitzmas. But better. :)

Has someone put together a useful flow chart or other graphic of all the Bush scandals? Or even a whole website? Because I think it's clearly called for; something we can link to for every scandal under discussion.

Anyone know of any?

Anyone who thinks we are witnessing "one giant, undifferentiated scandal" is forgetting the Clinton years. From Whitewater to Vince Foster to Monica to impeachment. All we are witnessing right now is some sloppy administration.

Swinty, 5:21:

"It seems like whatever the Nixon adminstration did, this administration has been shown to have repeated it and improved upon it."

Agreed. And Cheney seems to have learned enough from his time in that administration to get away with everything this time... so far, anyway.

However, 'the meta-scandal' of everything that exists in this administration and Republicans and conservatism collectively may be a good phrase, though the moronic author means it sarcastically.

Kevin - I'd like a relink to the Bush 2nd term predictions articles from back in late 04 or early 05. Things seems to be proving you right.

I love it when the trolls start throwing "straw men" about like snowballs. Broad generalizations, wholly unbelievable except to "the base," as Turdblossom calls them.

Why investigate now? 'Cause we can.

Why investigate? To find out WHAT WENT WRONG!

Why? So we can fix it, and learn from it, so that we don't have to repeat the same mistake in the future.

We need the future, so we can make new mistakes to fix. Right now, the future ain't real bright, kinda like Bush...

You know, it wouldn't suprise me if Bush was planning to invade Cambodia.

Large oil deposites were discovered a few years ago off the coast of Cambodia. And Hun Sen is unlikely to agree to the productions sharing agreements favored by our oil companies. He'll probably give the majority of the contracts to China and Vietnam. That's probably reason enough for Bush to invade.

Alex said: "This administration is both crooked and incompetent."

Yes, you are correct, sir. I was being unfair to the Nixon administration. Some administrations concentrate on graft, some concentrate on corruption. This administration multi-tasks, adding a dash of incompetence as well.

What FBI scandal?

I missed that one. Unless you mean the NYPD thing, which I also mostly missed.

Franklyn, This FBI scandal.

Today I heard a 75 year old man apologize for referring to the president as an 'idiot'. He was just being polite and agrees that Bush has to go, and fast. All four golden agers in the 6 way conversation were 'conservative Christians'.

The USA 'scandal' makes for good theatre, but the FBI breaking the law and not being held accountable has much more serious consequences.

Let's compare the Clinton and Bush scandal rap sheet, shall we, Al?

Clinton --
Whitewater: nothing; Clintons officially cleared.
Vince Foster: WTF?
Monica: President recieved illicit blowjob late one night; tried to cover it up. Government forced to publish report featuring detailed descriptions of president's genitals. Somehow world continues to revolve.

Conclusion: Clinton scandals were either non-existant or bullshit federal cases made out of personal sins that in and of themselves were no real threat to our nation or constitution.

Bush --
9/11: incompetence, ignorance and lacsidasical attitude towards threat of terrorism leaves country vulnerable to worse attack on American soil in 200 years.
Iraq War: fabricated or distorted evidence used to lead country to friggin WAR. Thousands of American soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqis dead.
Katrina: combination of incompetence, corruption and plain not giving a damn about poor people results in hundreds of deaths and destruction of one of America's great cities, which is still far from recovery
FBI Wiretapping: violation of citizens' constitutional rights; abuse of surveillance powers; right to privacy and protection from the power of the state dead.
USA Fireings: attempt to use power of the judicial system to target political enemies and undermine the democratic electoral process by bringing frivolous voter fraud charges against groups that tend to vote Democratic. Idea of independent, impartial justice and democracy dead.

Conclusion: Bush's scandals are representative of a coordinated attempt at all levels of the Executive Branch to undermine the very foundations of democracy and our Constitution and have actually resulted in death and destruction on an unprecedented scale.

Kevin,

"But does it mean there are serious scandals that aren't getting the individual attention they deserve?"

Yep. Absolutely! Kick over any stone - any stone at all. You are bound to find major problems everywhere, to any depth you'd like to search.

I asked you guys at the Monthly to push for impeachment when abu ghraib first came to light in 2004, yet somehow that Sy Hersh documented and publicly photographed abomination managed to find a way to float among the Washington Pundit class, with the excuse that somehow since we'd all just been through that with Clinton we couldn't possible do that to Bushie. The Clinton fiasco is nothing like the current mess, which is obvious to freaking everyone; NOW.

And then you wrote the prediction article about the scandal of the second term pre-re-election. You were right. I was right.

I STILL WANT MY IMPEACHMENT TICKETS.

Kevin do me a favor and go through the Monthly threads at that time and document the wankers who opposed impeachment then, their lack of credibility should be reviewed.

Nobody said Rove intended to achieve his Permanent GOP Majority by playing by the rules. He certainly knows all the levers of power, and he's willing to pull on them, legal or not.

Had the American People not posed this INTERVENTION in the form of the 2006 election - one wonders if we would ever have learned about all this; or if Rove would have boldly and successfully killed off even the Libby trial.

Dang, just when I was thinking that I could put away my Fitzmas tree for this year.

Like they said, 'It's just a few bad apples.' Unfortunately, these apples are running the show. Every time one of these apples has been given a position of authority, whether in the public or private spheres, scandal hasn't been far behind. Think about it.

This is why impeachment and imprisonment are the only viable options. This is a pattern of lawlessness and disregard for the Constitution that is breath-taking--simply astounding malfeasance. Every single one of these crooks would be ejected from any public institution for corrupting the common good, be it the Cub Scouts or the Ladies Auxiliary. I think the end will come only when you see Fox news surrounded by grieving Americans pushing through the doors.

Even Saudi Arabia has abandoned Cousin Bush. Resignations are due. The robber barons are out of control. Time to put them back in a cage (check out what happened at Circuit City today as you eat your cake. . .)

Clio - precisely. Virtually every day I run across examples of federal government services that used to be imperfectly but acceptably provided by actual government employees, but are now unavailable, useless, dead-wrong or available only for hefty charges because they have been outsourced - at vastly greater cost to the taxpayer - to a private company owned by the idiot nephew/criminal brother-in-law of some bush/cheny crony.

THAT is a crime, and the classic evidence of an kleptocratic oligarchy.

"Large oil deposites were discovered a few years ago off the coast of Cambodia."

Nevermind that. I saw with my own eyes Hun Sen & Osama bin Laden sitting at a Parisian (of course!) café, conspiring against us. (Freakin' surrender monkeys did absolutely NOTHING about this, by the way.)

Time to reconfigure the Axis.

each succeeding Administration will be under relentless attack by partisans, eager to prove the Administration is corrupt, inept

Why any citizen would think accepting the criminality of any administration is not worthy of relentless attack is remarkable. Gridlock should be preferred to action, especially if that action is criminal or destructive. Unfortunately, too many Americans think corruption is now so commonplace that it is the normal course of our government's business, and any attempt to stop it will prevent the national security apparatus from doing its job. In that regard, Bush has created a legacy that will be used to screw the people for a very long time.

I don't care if it's the VERY LAST DAY of his presidency. It's never too late to IMPEACH. At some point, we, as a nation MUST stand up for what's RIGHT, point at the White House and say, "This is wrong - and we shall never let this happen again."

It's true that the damage is done, and that most of it cannot be undone. But - is Justice no longer an important concept?

jonas wrote: "Let's compare the Clinton and Bush scandal rap sheet, shall we, Al?"

You forgot the most important Bush scandal -- the fact that Bush is president at all.

The 2000 presidential election in Florida was blatantly stolen by Jeb Bush and Katherine Harris, who before the election deliberately purged tens of thousands of eligible African-American Democratic voters from the rolls by falsely identifying them as "felons" who were ineligible to vote. If these eligible voters had been able to cast their ballots, as they had every right to do, then Al Gore would have won Florida by a margin of tens of thousands of votes.

However, even that conspiracy was not sufficient to steal the Florida election for Bush. Gore still won by a narrow margin. The Bush machine then prevented all the legally cast ballots from being counted in accordance with established Florida election law, by appealing to corrupt, partisan Republican members of the US Supreme Court who violated their oaths of office to hand the presidency to Bush and Cheney.

The Cheney/Bush administration seized power through a scandalous crime against the American people and the US Constitution, and having done that they embarked on an ongoing series of scandalous crimes against the American people and the US Constitution, all for the purpose of enriching themselves and their ultra-rich cronies and financial backers in America's right-wing extremist corporate ruling class.

The stolen election of 2000 was the mother of all the Bush administration's crimes, the foundation of all the corruption and criminality that was to follow, and that continues to this day.

Trashhauler - you didn't spend your entire damn adult life putting your ass on the line in an ideological struggle against dogmatic authoritarians who made a mockery of justice just to pave the way for it to happen at home - did you?

I think this adminstration is populated from top to bottom with two types: Republican True Believers who think that the ends justify the means in promoting the Republican party, and Amoral Self-Promoters who think the ends justify the means in getting what they want. I think both groups operate under the assumption that laws and customs and tradition are pesky nuisances for the little people, but not for them.

Many, many laws have been broken by this adminstration. I don't have an ounce of proof or a scintilla of doubt.

Extradite Rummy: Amen! The groundswell to kick the abusive criminals out is palpable, even in what used to be red states. Frankly, almost everywhere I go, it is mostly blue these days. Impeach!!

One could forgive Bush Administration disorganization and incompetence if their mistakes were made in the course of honestly trying to do the nation's business. Republicuns tried to make a big deal out of the Clintonian Travel Office Debacle, misdirected FBI background files, Hillary Clinton's missing legal billing files, etc. But their ire didn't stick because the Clintons weren't doing those things with the purpose of fucking anybody. Bush's people are earnest in their attempts to fuck people. That's the difference.

This is the way government has always worked.
The Democrats are just grasping at straws to divert attention away from the fact that they have no ideas.
Posted by: American Hawk on March 28, 2007 at 5:26 PM | PERMALINK

Wistle past the grave yard AH, maybe the American people wont bury you...
Frankly this is how the Nazi party took over the Weimar German Republic. In every government institution they substituted the authority and the willl of the party in place of the neutral agency function. They made every government office political. The Republicans are no different. They don't have fancy uniforms and a will to extermination but the mechanics of what they did, the subversion of government institutions for polical ends, is exactly the same as the NSADP.

I'll take Dem ideas over Republican treason any day.

This would make an excellent billboard,

Extradite Rumsfeld:

I don't care if it's the VERY LAST DAY of his presidency. It's never too late to IMPEACH. At some point, we, as a nation MUST stand up for what's RIGHT, point at the White House and say, "This is wrong - and we shall never let this happen again."

It's true that the damage is done, and that most of it cannot be undone. But - is Justice no longer an important concept?

As with Al Capone, it almost doesn't matter what you get them on. As long as we get them all.

This isn't a government, it's the Bush/Cheney Cosa Nostra. It's time to use the RICO Act

under relentless attack by partisans, eager to prove the Administration is corrupt, inept….Trashhauler at 5:35 PM

I love it that you posted this topic. How ingenious to present it. This is the subject matter that I consider much of the time, especially while driving. By the time I get home I cannot wait to post my opinion on at least one or more scandals in progress. So many scandals, so little time....
I suspect I will be posting repeatedly...

Here's something to frame the picture nicely--some of the scandals from the first term.

http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2005/01/18/scandal/index.htmle topic

Republican investigations of the Clinton Administration ended with two convictions: Cisneros and Hubble.

For things prior to joining the administration, that did not involve their public duties.

As a citizen I would not want the Democrats to go on a vengeful spree of investigations of the White House and the alleged crimes of Karl Rove. It will be bad for the Democrats and bad for the country.

It's time for a terrorist act in the USA to distract us all from further inquiries into the doings of the current administration.

Heck, let's plant a dirty _____ in ______ and then declare martial law.

Don't take me seriously. But, seriously, this is not out of the realm of the bushreality.

It sucks to distrust my government this much.

I think the effectiveness of this Congress should be rated on the number of scandals uncovered, the number of pressers where Bush pitches a hissy fit.

Trash hauler: more of a water carrying concern troll. I have zero respect for anyone who voted for or who obstucted fully illuminating the malfeasance of this administration. Zero. Thus your concern for political civility is six years late in coming. How do you apologize to the dead, disenfranchised, or desperate? You should ask yourself that.

As a citizen I would say gutting the Republican party and jailing every one of them and driving the rest to some far away land they can ruin as they please is what would be good for the country.

Or, failing in their attempt to ruin it, be eaten by the inhabitants.

MUCH MUCH worse than Watergate.

MUCH MUCH worse...

Tom Nicholson >"...It sucks to distrust my government this much."

Amen bro, amen.

I have been waiting for it; I only wonder where...

"Politics is just high school with guns and more money" - Frank Zappa

SecularAnimist: Indeed -- Good points. Looking over my original list, I could add two other significant issues: torture and privatisation/no-bid contracting/lobbying corruption. Under this administration, the CIA and other black op military units have engaged in torture and murder with the express permission of the President, Vice-President and Attorney General. Abu Ghraib was just the tip of the iceberg that will no doubt come more into view in the years and decades to come as journalists and other researchers plumb the fathomless depths of savagery we have engaged in in the name of fighting terror. Second, the emerging GSA scandal, like the Duke Cunningham affair (there's another one for you) is another example of a widespread and corrupt scheme by the Bush administration to funnel tax dollars to favored industries and constituents who in turn support the party. Halliburton's no-bid contracts for Iraq are the prime example, but it goes on endlessly and adds up to tens of billions of our dollars going to crooks who gave a few bucks to the Republican party or hired Jack Abramhoff. In a sense, Bush and Rove have worked to not just politicize government, but politicize those industries and businesses who do business with the government, creating a powerful synergy between industry and the state all grounded in party politics. Hmmmm. Where have we seen that before?

The Republicans are no different. They don't have fancy uniforms and a will to extermination but the mechanics of what they did, the subversion of government institutions for polical ends, is exactly the same as the NSADP.
Posted by: Nemesis on March 28, 2007 at 6:46 PM | PERMALINK

A lot of people forget that the primary goal of the third reich, was the third reich. It wasn't the exermination of jews. Anti-semitism was a PR tool they used to unite various factions on the Right. Just like hatred of gays and hatred of liberals is used here, in the US. It was a political tool. It gets top billing on the list of "things we hate about Nazis" - but extermination of jews was not an end. It was a means to an end. (which, when you think about it, makes it that much more horrible).

And it is so with Republicans. Racism is not an end to them. It's a means to an end (appeal to the redneck vote). Even the "bash the poor" is not and end. It's a means to an end (appeal to the super-rich). Even all the corporate welfare is a means to an end (appeal to small investors - ie. everyone with a 401k). And I'm CERTAIN that the concept of a self-sustaining Republican Majority was also simply a means to an end. If they were truly serious about a permanent Republican Majority, they would not have allowed all this incompetence, and the fraud and bribery would have never seen the light of day. No - they were not REALLY interested in a permanent Republican Majority. That was just a way to scam the RNC and major donors into supporting their criminal enterprise. The END goal, for the Bushies, was to con as many people as they could, to get in power, steal as much money as they could get away with, burn a few scapegoats and "true-believers" along the way, pardon the rest, and retire somewhere nice, beyond the reach of the Law.

cld >"...Or, failing in their attempt to ruin it, be eaten by the inhabitants."

They would need lots of seasonings to keep the stuff down...

"If you`re not nervous, you don`t understand what`s happening." - John Young

I've started to enjoy American Hawk's and Al's posts. I don't see Egbert or Norman Rogers. Pity.

OBF, I thought your post upthread and I agree it belongs on a billboard. Since I don't have a billboard...

What don't we know.

Honestly, it's proven impossible to misunderestimate this administration.

Nemsis got to where my mind was working to. It's been deliberate. It's evil. It has been treasonous.

It's not a question of Dem revenge. It's doing the right thing for the survival of the country.

And can we have habeas corpus back, NOW!, please.

Greatest. Criminal. Ever.

Bush scandal we can't forget:

Outsourcing the military to Blackwater USA, the military branch of the Christian Dominionist movement.

Outsourcing intelligence gathering to whomever can provide the most crap for their vivid daydreams.

they never meta screwup they didn't like.

(someone had to say it.)

And, what ExtraditeRumsefeld said!

And...

You don't even know the worst of it.

Here's a hint:

Everyone who has posted a anti-Bush diatribe to the net has been under govt. surveillance.

Anybody wanna bet?

Yes... these fuck-ups ARE that evil.

In some ways Bush is almost protected by the sheer number of his scandals. We don't have time to fully savor and analyze one before the next is upon us. Thus Harry Reed drove out the Scooter Libby trial, and was in turn driven out by the Gonzales 8.

I agree with extradite Rumsfeld on the craven politicking of the GOP: they see government primarily as a networking interface for powerful private enterprise and coroporate interests. It's a place to hang out after your graduation from Liberty University, but before you become a lobbying/consultant for General Dynamics. Hence those aspects of government, like rescuing people from natural disasters, rebuilding civil institutions in countries you've invaded, etc., which don't represent an opportunity to enrich party loyalists, don't register on their radar.

But I'm not sure the comparison with Nazi antisemitism is right. Unfortunately for many German Jews and others, it was too late before they realized that the eliminationist rhetoric of the Nazi Party _wasn't_ just a bunch of rhetoric that would cool down once they got into power and got what they wanted (a revitalized military; rejection of the Versailles treaty, etc.)Antisemitism was at the very core of the Nazi elite's raison d'etre and they approached it as a spiritual and political value system that underpinned their entire understanding of the world. Some Nazis were certainly less interested in antisemitism than, say, nationalism, but as an institution, the NSDAP was first and foremost about destroying the Jews (or at least, prior to 1942, ethnically cleansing Germany of them): only then could Germany achieve its destiny.

ER: I don't care if it's the VERY LAST DAY of his presidency. It's never too late to IMPEACH....

Great line. Heck I wouldn't mind prosceuting the bastards after they leave office so they can... Go. To. Jail. And. Pay. Huge. Fines.

Oops, I forgot about Paraguay. But they have an extradition treaty with the U.S. that went into force in March 2001. Heh.

ROTFLMLiberalAO >"...Everyone who has posted a anti-Bush diatribe to the net has been under govt. surveillance..."

You forgot to wave at the NSA folks.

Hi Ya there NSA duty folks ! Bored yet ?

ROTFLMLiberalAO >"...these fuck-ups ARE that evil."

Of that I have no doubt.

Time for a smoke break yet there NSA ?

"...Ambition must be made to counteract ambition..." - FEDERALIST No. 5

Has American Hawk had his talons clipped? He seems to be having a harder time grasping at straws.

Look at this extraordinarily prescient article in The Onion in January 2001.

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28784

tpm just put up an interesting bit.

Where the Great Decider says Now, some of them (in Congress) believe that by delaying funding for our troops, they can force me to accept restrictions on our commanders that I believe would make withdrawal and defeat more likely.

Greg Sargent concludes,

Also note Bush's line about how members of Congress think "they can force me" to do what the public wants. That's what this has come down to now.

"Me."

Delusional.

It's all about him. --As far as he knows. But at this point I think it's safe to say he doesn't know much.

He's where he is because he's the sort of dick who thinks like that. But it's really all about wrecking the US government because the US government is the only force that could realistically prevent the full flowering of corporate feudalism.

That's what it's all about.

Apollo 13 >"...I forgot about Paraguay. But they have an extradition treaty with the U.S. that went into force in March 2001..."

Do tell. How about Abu Dubai etc ?

"All governments lie, but disaster lies in wait for countries whose officials smoke the same hashish they give out." - I.F. Stone

lol@daCascadian...

In equation form:

Patriot Act + Repugies = Incorrigible Corruption

If you didn't have an FBI file before Bush got elected... you do now.

I first heard that proverb in Turkey, dC. It's a timeless truism, huh?

Except for the overall body count, this adminstration makes Nixon's criminality seem almost trivial by comparison. Certainly in overall harm done to our country, Bush beats 'em all. (On the Nixon ledger, those 2.1 million murdered Cambodians, plus maybe a million Vietnamese and Laotians, plus East Timor, plus Chile . . . quite an impressive body count. Ever wonder if they'll all be waiting, sitting behind St. Peter the day Henry K wants in?) The real debacles of Bush are still waiting; domestically, hey, did you know that just today we borrowed $1 Billion? Just like tomorrow? Just like yesterday? That's just one of the many catastrophes that await us. Watch the right try to blame, oh, Clinton or something.

After reading all these comment, I realize that you're right, I AM a complete and utter tool. Oh well, back to molesting children...

daCascadian: Do tell. How about Abu Dubai etc ?

UAE doesn't and large portions of Africa, China, Saudi Arabia... *sigh*

Everyone who has posted an anti-Bush diatribe to the net has been under govt. surveillance

I know Michelle Malkin and her munchkins survey the comments at Political Animal. I have no doubts they forward what they find to the secret police. Fortunately, there still is not enough computing power to fully survey all of the anti-Bush comments posted in the past six years. Even quantum computing would not have the capacity to do that.

Everyone who has posted a anti-Bush diatribe to the net has been under govt. surveillance.

Anybody wanna bet?

"Surveillance" meaning everything from direct questioning to putting us on some lame-ass lists? I'm not taking that bet. I had a visit from a Man in Black myself, although I wasn't home at the time and therefore can't be sure he didn't want to see me for some innocuous reason like, say, questioning me about some sinisterly progressive neighbor.

You know, it wouldn't suprise me if Bush was planning to invade Cambodia. At this point it really wouldn't..... Posted by: Stefan

Close. He's hoping that a swift strike against Iran does the trick.

We've got two carrier groups parked off the coast going through "12-on/12-off training exercises."

I think Harry Reid needs to make a phone call real quick and tell Bush to knock that shit off before we end up with a Tonkin Gulf-like "confrontation."

Blue Girl, thanks for the link.

Story that attack on Iran is set for April 6.

Personally, I still think there's an outside chance the whole thing could be a massive fake out and the whole thing dropped into Waziristan to get bin Laden.

Sometimes, lately, I cannot comprehend all the scandals that seem to come to light with increasing rapidity. Then (showing my age, I remember-- as others have already alluded to-- the Nixon years. I was at the beginning of my legal career with the US government during the Nixon years...what an education! I tend to agree with the early commenter here who noted that we should look to some of the techniques of the Nixon years to project how this group has taken politicization even further. This is what some would remember as Frederic Malek plus. That said: I wonder now whether so much of the internal government scandal is part of one large, systematic, methodical this-is-how-we-are going-to-crack down-on-and-run our agencies schema. You put in unquestioningly political appointees; then, they select their political and equally loyal or sycophantic deputies; then, you pressure the careerists to move/leave/back off. Hmmm. I saw some of that with Reagan at EPA and Interior. But, the level to which this political control has been taken (see US Attorneys matter, GSA, Interior's Giles et al) is amazing. The problem is that a number of these enablers will attempt to burrow in as has happened before. Thanks in advance to Congressman Waxman & company who realize exactly what is going on and what this approach to governance means.

KenS on March 28, 2007 at 5:19 PM |:
"The words "sloppy" and "screw-up" strike me as rather generous."

I think Feinstein means "absolute corruption" when she has talked liked that recently. For some reason she is playing the role of judicious moderate's moderate reluctantly being forced to reach conclusions she don't wanna make -maybe because she was the lead in pestering the DOJ about the firings for over a month and had to play 'huh? Are your really really supersure about that?' for weeks on end.. I don't buy her in that role for a second, she is too sharp. I think she had it all figured it out in about a two minutes, but what they hey, if it helps get these crooks thrown out of the WH, it's OK.

shortstop,

You had a visit from a Man in Black? Maybe he was trying to recruit you because their studies showed your brain was one of the few that wouldn't explode when it learned The Truth.

Personally, I still think there's an outside chance the whole thing could be a massive fake out and the whole thing dropped into Waziristan to get bin Laden. Posted by: cld

Which could be problematic, as Pakistan actually has nukular weapons.

But does it mean there are serious scandals that aren't getting the individual attention they deserve? Fairbanks makes a case that that's what's happened to the FBI scandal, which is "arguably, just as serious as the U.S. attorneys scandal and the others."

The problem is that for 6 years sans congressional oversight, the Cheney/Rove Administration has gotten away with multiple criminal acts.

Feinstein is completely right. Which is to say, a Republican congress refused to permit investigations into a Republican White House.

Example: Anyone want to argue that Bush & Cheney would have been allowed to "testify" (no transcript/no oath) before the 9/11 Commission assuming a Democratic congress?

If the idiots in the WH attack Iran it's conjectured that oil will jump to over 100 bucks per barrel.

Now think for a moment....

Is that such a bad thing for the BushCheyngang?

Think of the overnight profits.

So, while we cringe at the thought of such a stupid and audacious move, be very afraid.

The attack on Iran is "after a 2nd 9-11" Huh? how on earth can you predict such a thing unless you PLAN it?

You know, I am sick of the administration acting like the war is a rosy scenario.
Last night Michael Ware, reporter extraodinare, said things were not as they seem.

McCain living in a fantasy land, says CNN's man on the ground in Iraq
CNN reporter Michael Ware:
"Well, I’d certainly like to bring Sen. McCain up to speed if he ever gives me the opportunity. And if I have any difficulty hearing you right now Wolf, that’s because of the helicopters circling overhead and the gun battle that is blazing away just a few blocks down the road. Is Baghdad any safer? Sectarian violence, one particular type of violence, is down. But none of the American generals here on the ground have anything like Sen. McCain’s confidence. I mean, Sen. McCain’s credibility now on Iraq, which has been so solid to this point, is now being left out hanging to dry. To suggest that there’s any neighborhood in this city where an American can walk freely is beyond ludicrous. I’d love Sen. McCain to tell me where that neighborhood is and he and I can go for a stroll.

"And to think that Gen. David Petraeus travels this city in an unarmed humvee? I mean, in the hour since Sen. McCain’s said this, I’ve spoken to military sources and there was laughter down the line. I mean, certainly the general travels in a humvee. There’s multiple humvees around it, heavily armed. There’s attack helicopters, predator drones, sniper teams, all sorts of layers of protection. So, no, Sen. McCain is way off base on this one."

shortstop: I had a visit from a Man in Black myself...

See?

That's what you get for saying "Blah" at Joe Lieberman in Ohare airport.

Shame on you.
You should have genuflected and gushed.

I had a visit from a Man in Black myself, although I wasn't home at the time and therefore can't be sure he didn't want to see me for some innocuous reason like, say, questioning me about some sinisterly progressive neighbor.

No, I was going to bring you a basket of muffins and give you Cubs tickets. The opener is next week, isn't it?

It wasn't O'Hare! It was National!

I recently had to make use of a service that should have been provided by a state bureaucracy, but is now handled by a company owned by ChoicePoint (VitalChek). It's $10 to get a document in person, but if you can't easily get to the state capital (which I couldn't), $55 to the subsidiary of a Republican company that helped Katherine Harris monkey with the Florida voter rolls before the 2000 elections. Many states now recommend people to go through VitalChek to get important documents like birth and death certificates.

I think what Grover Norquist means by small government is pare off as many services as possible to crony capitalists who will then charge taxpayers far more for the same service a government bureaucrat could provide. Or maybe a government employee fulfilled my request while a private company got the profit. Who knows? My document came in an envelope with a return address from that state office, with a receipt from VitalChek.

Is corporatocracy in the dictionary yet?

Norm. You don't bother me in the least.
How about Kyle Sampson and Chuck Hagel, ----------------whom I love, stepping in. What? John Dean says Sampson will see some of this tomorrow when he testifies. And we will see----
with Bush, if it comes down to he refuses to give, the Congress would refer the person who refuses not to testify. Usually the white house blinks first. Dean explains that you can't willy nilly take the 5th--- the Senate will blow right past that--saying, we will immunize you. Dean says he is scratching his head since he heard of this. I love John Dean. I was just a kid when he spoke up against Nixon, but I was watching...

Check out my site for new posts.

It wasn't O'Hare! It was National!

Never heard of it. I think you more properly mean Ronald Wilson Reagan International Airport in Washington DC.

I think the sundry scandals are each very important but the notion of the meta-scandal makes a major point. That is, the reliance of our system of government on the goodwill of the participants.

In the Bush/Cheney cabal we see how easy it has been to distort the picture even to the point of causing major and permanent damage to our way of government.

Granted the damnable 109th helped immensely. It would arguably not have been possible without the perfect storm of Cheney (and Cheney IS the architect), 9/11 and the useles dreck that ran Congress for the last half-decade, but in fact Cheney pulled off something Aaron Burr only dreamed of - a wholesale takeover of the US government for personal aggrandizement.

Chuck Hagel,

I love Chuckles as well. He makes all kinds of noise and then votes with the President. Every time.

The great thing here is that the GOP has no one to blame but themselves.

Because the GOP was in control early in the Clinton administration, such scandals as existed were uncovered early but not simultaneously, Clinton was able to deal with them and the administration was discouraged from perhaps even more scandals and worse ones.

Because the GOP has also been in charge during most of the Bush administration with absolutely no willingness whatsoever to engage in oversight, not only did the scandals go uncovered, to be simultaneously exposed and investigated, but those in the administration were encouraged and became comfortable with more and greater divergence from the ethical and moral (and legal) path.

Of course, being conservatives, they were already most of the way to ethical nonconformity and immorality at the outset.

In addition to, and sometimes concurrent to, the scandals, it would be valuable to have a listing of all the actions(or non-actions) the administration has executed in pursuit of their stated goal of discrediting the utility of the federal government for anything other than war. Having a conservative for president is like having an atheist as your minister.

Having a conservative for president is like having an atheist as your minister.

Having a liberal as a president is like having an out of control sex maniac in charge of the Executive Branch of Government.

sparko wrote:

"Trash hauler: more of a water carrying concern troll. I have zero respect for anyone who voted for or who obstucted fully illuminating the malfeasance of this administration. Zero. Thus your concern for political civility is six years late in coming. How do you apologize to the dead, disenfranchised, or desperate? You should ask yourself that."
_______________________

sparko (and benjamin), it's too bad that you equate anything less than striving to outdo you in righteous indignation with being a troll. I don't know if either one of you has worked in government, but I've served seven of them. I haven't buyers remorse, I'm warning you that, if this gotcha-type politics continues, we'll all have combat fatigue. If we want perpetual gridlock, all we have to do is continue a scorched-earth policy with opponents. Retaliation and escalation is inevitable.

I realize that might not bother the true believers, but my job is to make my part of government work, not fail. No matter who is in charge.

When the Democrats won in November last year, I thought they would organize the congressional hearings to space things out, and uncover a new scandal every week or two up to the 2008 election. That way the public would get a chance to really understand and absorb just what Bush and his people had done wrong in one case before going on to the next.

I guess they're not doing that because there are too many scandals to cover, so they are falling on top of each other.

Hagel votes with his conscience. He made the difference in the Senate vote. I admire Hagel. If I weren't a classy girl, I would tell you to go fu** yourself.

Paulo: "I think the sundry scandals are each very important but the notion of the meta-scandal makes a major point. That is, the reliance of our system of government on the goodwill of the participants."

That is such a beautifully gifted point that I threw it up again in bold.

For those of you who saw the Lurita Doan stonewall:
Did you see the moment when Henry Waxman speaks up?

Good golly... for the first time in years we've got responsible adults with both goodwill AND gavels.
Crikey but it has been a long time coming...

(By the way Bruce Braley deserves a serious attaboy from all of us. Here is his home page if you are interested: http://braley.house.gov/)

al: "The Democrats are just grasping at straws to divert attention away from the fact that they have no ideas."

The Republicans have ideas, but the only way they can sneak them past the public is through secrecy and massive corruption.

Having a liberal as a president is like having an out of control sex maniac in charge of the Executive Branch of Government.

Ruin a dress, or ruin the Army, the Marine corps, the entire country of Iraq and the Republican brand - or ruin a blue dress. Gee lemme think about that...

Whoever notices the first Bush administration witness who gets confused and lies about the wrong scandal -please do notifiy Mr. Drum so we can all read about it, or maybe even watch a video clip.

Also let us know about any expert TV talking heads on the structural engineering of scandals. I would like to listen to those folks. I am very upset and concerned about this repeated pancaking and domino-effect cascade of multiple scandals -it is a serious flaw in structural design of scandals, been going on since at least Hurricane Katrina, and will be a big problem over the next 2 years at at least.

Hagel votes with his conscience. He made the difference in the Senate vote. I admire Hagel. If I weren't a classy girl, I would tell you to go fu** yourself.

Hagel voted for torture.

Bill: S 3930
Vote description: S. 3930 As Amended; Military Commissions Act of 2006

This bill would outlaw certain actions during interrogations by U.S. personell, including torture, rape, biological experimentation, and “mutilation or maiming,” but would leave it up to the president to define what interrogation techniques outside those barred by the Geneva Conventions is still permissible. It also would authorize the creation of military tribunals and legally immunize CIA officers who may have engaged in activity characterized as torture. The bill goes on to bar non-American citizens from protesting their imprisonment if the president designates them as “enemy combatants.”

Supporters say the legislation’s passage was a coup for the Bush administration and GOP because it helps boost their image as being tough on terrorists. Critics of the bill say it “dismantles a basic American freedom by denying detainees access to the courts” and is morally wrong. Despite those misgivings, many congressional Democrats reportedly voted for the bill to avoid being portrayed as soft on terror suspects.

Hagel voted YES on the measure.

Hagel ALSO voted for:

Vote 182: S 2766: This amendment called on the president to withdraw troops from Iraq, but set no firm deadline. No

Vote 245: On the Nomination: Confirmation of John G. Roberts, Jr., to be Chief Justice of the United States. Yes

Vote 2: On the Nomination: Confirmation of Samuel A. Alito, Jr. to be an Associate Supreme Court Justice. Yes

Vote 118: H R 4297: Extended the Bush tax cuts. Yes

Vote 44: S 256: Made it harder for people to erase debt by declaring bankruptcy. Yes

Vote 142: On the Cloture Motion: Blocked, for the second time, the confirmation President Bush's choice for U.N. Ambassador, John Bolton. Those opposed to the confirmation voted "no" on a measure to limit debate. Those in favor of the confirmation fell short of the 60 votes needed to limit debate and move the nomination process forward. Yes

Chuck Hagel--yes to TORTURE, yes to tax cuts, Judge Alito, Chief Justice Roberts, Yes to tax cuts, Yes to John Bolton, Yes to making it harder for liberals to file bankruptcy, No to pulling the troops out of Iraq.

Oh, he's some maverick!

Bwah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah!

What FBI scandal are you talking about?
Did I miss one?

As for this Ms Fairbanks theorey: a breakdown of these proportions can't be entirely blamed on the White House. The whole government is has broken down. The Congress is responsible too, and not just anyone with an R after their name. I'll put the blame on anyone who voted for the AUMF. That seems like a pretty good litmus test for who were the enablers and who weren't.

Norman Rogers,

Just as I suspected, you are a liberal posing as a wingnut, in order to innoculate the rest of us against the idiots at the water cooler.

I take back my harsh words about you.

Just as I suspected, you are a liberal posing as a wingnut, in order to innoculate the rest of us against the idiots at the water cooler.

That's a theory that gets floated every three weeks or so, and it gets shot down just as the horror of a liberal take-over of America's government becomes apparent to the centrists who lurk here.

A word to you, sir--they have implemented a thing called "moderation" and if I was a spoofer or a parody or a fake and a fraud, my comments would be deleted within moments of me typing them in. To date, they seem to have left my comments intact. It's going on four years that I have commented here, so I don't know exactly how a "parody" can last four years.

Trashhauler wrote: " I'm warning you that, if this gotcha-type politics continues, we'll all have combat fatigue."

You have yet to demonstrate that any such "gotcha-type politics" is occurring. The offenses are real and serious and they merit precisely the amount of attention they are getting -- from the Congress, the news media, and the public, the latter of which overwhelmingly supports these investigations.

"If we want perpetual gridlock, all we have to do is continue a scorched-earth policy with opponents."

You have yet to demonstrate that any Congressional Democrat is practicing a "scorched-earth policy." Given the facts thus far, I doubt you will be able to demonstrate any such thing, since such tactics are not, in fact, being practiced.

"Retaliation and escalation is inevitable."

Tell that to Newt Gingrich and to the Republican Congress who impeached a sitting President for lying about a tawdry affair. Strange, by the way, how I missed your voice rising in complaint about the "scorched-earth policy" and "retaliation and escalation" that the Republican Party has engaged in over the past dozen years.

"I realize that might not bother the true believers, but my job is to make my part of government work, not fail. No matter who is in charge."

Wow, talk about a drama queen....

In any case, were you actually serious about this statement, you would be fully supporting these Congressional efforts to make damn sure that our government does, in fact, work -- doing precisely what it is supposed to do precisely as it is supposed to do it; no more and no less. That it has not been doing so is becoming more and more clear as more information is revealed.

That you are busy criticizing Congressional Democrats (who, after all, are simply doing precisely what they are supposed to be doing) while ignoring the very real offenses of the Bush administration tells us all that you are not worth taking seriously, that you are, in fact, the "concern troll" that you are accused of being. Frankly, this was pathetic. When you speak of "true believers," I suggest you look in the mirror.

Worst president ever. Thank you, Chuck Hagel, for voting against the insanity. Fuck this.
These liars in power. Speak truth to power. I love that I was able to post what Michael Ware said. Keith Olbermann is talking about this now on his Countdown program...
Conditions at Baghdad are grim. A climate of fear exists. Senator McCain is nuts. General McCaffery -- just in Iraq -- said no one can walk the streets of Baghdad without protection.
Note they continue to lie about the true situation

On the same blog that the president quoted--the dentists--they said whoa, it is not that rosy...

Iraqis are not writing about happy days in their blogs

trashhauler: I realize that might not bother the true believers, but my job is to make my part of government work, not fail.

Government cannot work if it becomes merely an extension of the political party and controlled by those who will lie about anything and everything and commit any criminal act necessary to perpetuate power.

The only way to avoid that, as proved during 6 years of nonexistent congressional oversight, is a willingness to expose and prosecute corruption.

This is the cure, not the disease you make it out to be.

If you want avoidance of investigation pile on investigation piled on prosecution, then I suggest you have a conversation with those who willingly voted for not only this administration, but Republican congress members who refused to perform their constitutional duty as a check on the executive power through the process of congressional oversight.

These scandals do not involve the personal antics of the president, but a premeditated plan throughout the ruling party to game the system for partisan purposes in a way that is cancerous to democracy and which ignores or deemphasizes service to the public.

It is an administration that has placed partisan faith above science, experience, and public policy expertise, that has placed statistics for