Impeach Bush? "Not a feasible option"

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Darvin Muchow wants the world to know that he did not approve the single-word billboard message that graces his middle-of-Kansas wheat field along Interstate 70. "IMPEACH," the sign reads in huge blue and red letters. It's almost impossible to miss.

Muchow leases the billboard space to a national firm.

"I couldn't believe it," the 74-year-old Republican groused. "I'm not happy about it. I'm not happy at all."

The sign does not say who should be impeached. To Muchow, though, it's pretty obvious — President Bush.

The "I-word" has had a resurgence. On July 10, 130 of 317 e-mails sent to the office of Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., centered on impeachment — all of them in favor.

House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., dropped the word last Sunday, speaking about the investigation into the firings of nine U.S. attorneys. Conyers said he was hoping for more White House cooperation "as the cries for the removal of both Cheney and Bush" grow.

A fresh survey by the nonpartisan American Research Group found that 45 percent of respondents said they supported launching impeachment proceedings against Bush while 46 percent said they opposed such a move.

A majority of respondents, 55 percent, said they wanted Vice President Dick Cheney out; 40 percent said no.

The White House had no comment on the poll, taken immediately after Bush commuted former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's prison sentence in the CIA leak case.

Yet those in the know say that impeachment is as unlikely as snow this month on Muchow's scorched fields.

"I don't think there's a chance in the world," said Rep. Dennis Moore, D-Kan.

"It isn't going to happen," said Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo.

"Not a feasible option," University of Wisconsin political scientist Kenneth Mayer said.

Set aside the difficulty of rounding up the votes to go after the second president in a row, Cleaver said. "If we pursue impeachment, we can forget any other Democratic agenda item for the next two years."

Entering a presidential-election year, Democrats would prefer a divided GOP.

"Almost the only thing that could unify Republicans right now would be an attempt to impeach," said Burdett Loomis, a University of Kansas political scientist. "The GOP is starting to come apart on Iraq, starting to come apart on No Child Left Behind, obviously on immigration. From a partisan point of view, why would you want to give them a real incentive to come together?"

Consider that Cheney becomes president if Bush is impeached and convicted, and more steam leaves the impeachment engine.

The House — where any impeachment proceeding would begin — has shown little interest. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said repeatedly that impeachment is off the table. Even liberal Democrats are wary.

"I have not seen the high crimes and misdemeanors, which is what the Constitution calls for," Cleaver said.

And Cheney?

"You're really testing me now," Cleaver added.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, an Ohio congressman and Democratic presidential candidate, has offered an impeachment resolution aimed at Cheney.

Jay Leno could not resist: "First of all, how many heart attacks has Cheney had? Five? Six?" the comedian joked recently. "Want to get rid of this guy? Buy him a cheeseburger."

For several liberal groups, it is not a joke. Full-page ads have run in The New York Times saying an endangered world cannot wait until January 2009, when Bush leaves office.

One group, After Downing Street, cites a long list of grievances on its Web site. Among them: the conduct of the Iraq war, the authorization of prisoner torture, the detaining of Americans without due process, the warrantless wiretapping of domestic phone calls, the unmasking of former CIA officer Valerie Plame and "gross negligence" in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

"I want to see them tried in criminal court and convicted and put behind bars," After Downing Street's David Swanson said of Bush and Cheney.

Fresh outrage has been fueled by the nixing of Cheney chief of staff Libby's 2 ½-year sentence for perjury and obstruction of justice.

Bush's approval rating sank to a low of 29 percent in the latest USA Today/Gallup poll. And an American Research Group poll showed 64 percent of respondents said they disliked Libby's commutation.

All that emboldens critics, such as Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who said impeachment should be on the table. Bill Moyers focused on the topic on his PBS show this month.

On the program, John Nichols, a correspondent for The Nation and author of "The Genius of Impeachment: The Founders' Cure for Royalism," talked about the "lawless" nature of the Bush administration.

"On January 20th, 2009, if George Bush and Dick Cheney are not appropriately held to account, this administration will hand off a toolbox with more powers than any president has ever had, more powers than the founders could have imagined," Nichols said. "The only way we take tools out of that box is if we sanction George Bush and Dick Cheney now and say the next president cannot govern as these men have."

But Moore said major disagreements with Bush should not translate to impeachment automatically. "We can have substantial differences with the administration," he said. "Symbolic gestures really don't do much for me."