Jail to the chief

“How can 59,054,087 people be so DUMB?” The Daily Mirror, a U.K. tabloid, asked that question of Americans on its cover after George W. Bush was re-elected in 2004. I wish I could answer it. At the time, it seemed that (apart from 49 percent of this country and the rest of the civilized world) American voters were in love with a man whose major accomplishments up until then included cheerleading in high school and steering an oil company toward bankruptcy. \nWith approval ratings for the emperor-in-chief hovering in the high 30s , there’s no denying the love affair is, thankfully, over. In the last six years, we’ve illegally invaded two countries, killed thousands of Muslims, and the status America once enjoyed in the world has diminished considerably. Nothing represents the public’s outrages better than the Impeach Bush rally scheduled to take place Saturday at the Sample Gates .\nOrganized by Democracy for IU , the rally is part of a nationwide protest calling for the impeachment of the president. Bush’s crimes include lying to the nation to invade Iraq, illegally wiretapping citizens, flouting the Constitution and sanctioning torture, among other things. Bill Clinton’s indiscretions pale in comparison, and yet talk of Bush’s impeachment has always been dismissed by members of both parties.\nNow, I will admit that my efforts to effect some change include owning an “Impeach W” button and signing an unsuccessful petition urging the prosecution of Donald Rumsfeld for war crimes. They don’t amount to much, but I rationalized my minimal involvement by claiming that no cohesive movement existed that gave direction to my anger.\nAnd while I am doubtful of any one rally’s long-term success, I do believe in its symbolism. Advocating personal responsibility and the ability to admit mistakes is the underlying theme of any impeachment rally. And one would be hard-pressed to find people who disagree with that. \nAt the same time, I am aware of a common argument by liberals against impeachment: Removing Bush is counterproductive because Dick Cheney is second in line to the presidency. It is true there is only one thing worse than George W. Bush as president – Dick Cheney as president.\nOhio Rep. Dennis Kucinich is gearing up to change that, when this week he introduced articles of impeachment against Cheney. Unfortunately, Kucinich, a 2008 presidential candidate, has not been backed by a single member of Congress. Rahm Emanuel, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, told reporters: “Dennis can do what he wants; I’m not going to support it.” \nAnd people ask me why I hate Democrats.\nPeople are always quick to write off college students as uninterested and apathetic. It is true that students haven’t mobilized greatly against the Iraq invasion. Protests that were common during the Vietnam War are virtually unheard of today, but that doesn’t mean we don’t care about what’s going on. The truth is, people are always moved by something personal, and nothing is more personal than politics.