I’m seeing a lot of gloating about the recent Zogby poll showing support for the idea that lying about starting a war could be an impeachable offense. According to the survey, “more than two-in-five (42%) voters say that, if it is found that President Bush did not tell the truth about his reasons for going to war with Iraq, Congress should hold him accountable through impeachment.” Some people seem to think that’s good news. I think it’s a disgustingly low number. There’s a very big IF in that question that, in my opinion, should push the positive response much higher.
People weren’t being asked if they actually supported impeachment now, or whether they actually thought Bush did lie. They were asked whether they thought he should be impeached IF he lied. And over half the people surveyed responded “No”. Even hypothetically, they don’t think misleading the public about reasons for a war that’s costing thousands of American lives, tens of thousands of Iraqi lives, and hundreds of billions of dollars is an impeachable offense. For crying out loud folks, if that isn’t, what is? Oh yeah, I forgot. Lying about getting a blow job is far worse.
Not surprisingly, the response varied strongly according to party affiliation. 59% of Democrats and 25% of Republicans would favor impeachment if he lied about Iraq. I really would like to ask the other 75% of Republicans a few rhetorical questions. “Did you favor impeaching President Clinton for lying about his sex life?” “If yes, can you explain why that is a more impeachable offense than lying about reasons for starting a war?” “Do you really feel that the President’s sex life is more important than the lives of thousands of US soldiers?”