When Bush is out of office and hopefully replaced by a Democrat, or at least a reality-based politician, will the world go back to normal?
Here are some steps that would help me feel like the ship of state that Bush capsized has been righted.
First, some symbolic things. All the people whose characters were assassinated by Karl Rove? They need to be revived. Richard Clarke, the guy who tried to warn the President about 9/11, should get the Presidential Medal Freedom, but only after it's ripped off of George Tenet's chest.
Joe Wilson should get something, along with anybody else in the intelligence community who dissented when the evidence and analysis was being distorted by politicians.
Karl Rove? Frogmarched. Along with Scooter Libby. Stephen Hadley should be threatened with prosecution for the "16 words" SOTU lie about yellowcake until he gives up Condy, the real liar behind the State of the Union lies.
And ex-President Bush II himself should be made to appear before audiences of randomly picked citizens, not hand-picked ones, just to know how it feels.
And then there are substantive changes, like fixing the USA Patriotic Act, and undoing a raft of damaging lobbyist-written legislation.
The list goes on, but it boils down to two things:
- Dissent is patriotic. Free speech is the bedrock of our civic life and must be preserved.
- An administration that crows about accountability for schoolchildren, including 4 year old Head Start participants, should be accountable itself.