Peridyd's Progress

Don't look now, but it could be that we actually have a resurgent fourth estate.

The question is, is it too little and too late?

There are a few things to keep in mind as Congress begins to (at long last) confront, contest, and provide long absent oversight of the Oval Office:

1. Bush has stacked the deck of the Supreme Court. (Yes, I think that's where we're heading.)
2. Because of item 1, it's highly likely that the Court will break with precedent (most notably during the last days of Watergate) and actually affirm so-called Executive Privilege, which is never mentioned in the Constitution.
3. If item 2 occurs, progressives can and should put the shoe on the other foot and accuse the Supreme Court of legislating from the bench, something which conservatives have accused the left of doing for more than a generation.
4. If both 1 and 2 occur, we (the citizens of the United States) will have inherited the government and the future that we deserve.

When the stakes are this high (and make no mistake about it, they are very high), it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that only acceptable outcome is for our side (i.e., the Congress) to prevail. In a sense, that's true. That is the only acceptable outcome for those who are committed to progressive, democratic ideals. There is much to abhor in any president who claims to be beyond the reach of the laws of the land. Yet, while we work for and hope for an outcome that will support, rather than undermine, accountability, it's important to remember that this culture is responsible for the fact that George W. Bush inhabits the Oval Office. If we don't find his actions abhorrent enough to remove him from office (and we certainly have plenty of reasons to feel betrayed by him), then we have the government that we deserve.