Restoring Dignity to the Presidency Means Restoring Accountability to the Oval Office
June 7, 2007
Remember when President Bush was running for office in 2000 and he promised to restore dignity to the Oval Office? By his standards, that’s a pretty easy feat. Simply refrain from getting sucked off by the nearest intern and you’ve done the job.
But by the rest of the world’s standards, not getting blown by someone other than your wife simply doesn’t cut it. In fact, I would argue that President Bush has done more to denigrate the dignity of the Oval Office than any sitting president since Lincoln’s predecessor James Buchanan.
The existence of Comedy Central’s highly anticipated new show Lil’ Bush is just one telltale sign that the White House has lost its entitlement to respect. The cartoon — which depicts Bush and his team as arrogant overbearing children — became so hugely popular on the Web that Comedy Central adapted it to a network television format.
This is absolutely without precedent. Of course, all presidents are satirized. But I don’t believe there’s ever been a network television show dedicated entirely to pointing out the president’s many failings once a week. I see this deeply disrespectful gesture as the nation’s way of holding Bush accountable when no one in Washington seems up to the task.
I know I’ve spoken out against impeachment in the past. I used to think that it would be too disruptive to the country. But I see now that if we don’t impeach Bush, we’re headed down a gloomy national path. The dignity of the office itself is at stake, because the dignity of the president comes from his or her accountability to the people. As President Bush has no accountability, he has stripped the office of its dignity.
And since President Bush refuses to listen to the country, holding him accountable via impeachment appears to be the only way that we can show the world that the presidency still means something in America.
If you agree with me, drop House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a line at (202) 225-0100 or an e-mail and let her know that you support the opening of impeachment proceedings.
This isn’t about Democrats and Republicans. Partisan differences are an illusion concocted by master manipulators to divide us and make us impotent. We must now exercise the divine right of the people to hold our leaders to account when the leaders themselves will accept none.
Teresa:
This part of your post really struck me:
In ages past, dictatorships have always been controlled by controlling the people’s access to information and discourse - this is one of the reasons our founders enshrined free speech in our Constitution. The problem with controlling information is that a) it is impossible and b) the attempt will always trigger an aggressive response from those who want to be free. This is why all dictatorships eventually fail (often, only to be replaced by new dictators, but it’s a cycle).
The manipulators in our country learned that lesson a long time ago and did not attempt to control information in order to subdue the people - instead, they’ve encouraged the overwhelming flood of information and need merely to control the discourse itself: one side against the other, you’re wrong, we’re right, and as long as the American people are obsessed with fighting each other over who’s right and who’s wrong, they are not paying attention to what their leaders are really doing - a de facto dictatorship, if not one in legal fact.
Keep the people busy fighting each other and you can pretty much do whatever you want.
I often feel as though I’m the only one who sees that, and it’s refreshing to see you see it too.
I emailed Polosi.
Pelosi.
“I support impeachment precedings against President Bush. Regardless of how they come out, I feel that his manipulation and mismanagement in dealing with issues such as Iraq and Katrina, as well as his handling of the Attorney General scandal.”
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