A New Call for Impeachment

In 1972, he was the Democratic nominee for president. He ended up losing 49 states in a landslide loss to President Richard Nixon, who resigned with the threat of impeachment hanging over his head less than two years later.

Today, George McGovern is a retired former senator. His wife Eleanor died almost a year ago. So did his original running mate, Tom Eagleton. And, in today's Washington Post, the 85-year-old McGovern says he has come to the conclusion that President Bush and Vice President Cheney must go. Now.

Based on the political calendar, of course, both men will go in another year. The Constitution prevents Bush from seeking a third term, and Cheney long ago ruled out running for the presidency on his own.

But that's not soon enough for McGovern, who rightfully points out that he remained silent when calls for the impeachment of President Nixon reached a crescendo in late 1973 and into 1974.

McGovern writes that "the only honorable course for me is to urge the impeachment" of Bush and Cheney.

Acknowledging that "the political scene is marked by narrow and sometimes superficial partisanship, especially among Republicans, and a lack of courage and statesmanship on the part of too many Democratic politicians," McGovern admits that "the chances of a bipartisan impeachment and conviction are not promising."

Nevertheless, McGovern goes on to lay out his case for the removal of Bush and Cheney from office.

In what has to be a huge understatement, McGovern writes, "I have not been heavily involved in singing the praises of the Nixon administration."

In this instance, McGovern continues, "[T]he case for impeaching Bush and Cheney is far stronger than was the case against Nixon and Vice President Spiro T. Agnew after the 1972 election."

From false claims of Iraq's possession of nuclear and other weapons to the assertion that Saddam Hussein and Iraq were involved in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, McGovern says, "[T]he Bush-Cheney team repeatedly deceived Congress, the press and the public."

McGovern's criticism of the Bush administration does not end with foreign policy. Speaking of Hurricane Katrina, McGovern says, "[V]eteran CNN commentator Jack Cafferty condenses it to a sentence: 'I have never ever seen anything as badly bungled and poorly handled as this situation in New Orleans.'"

Which leads McGovern to say, "Any impeachment proceeding must include a careful and critical look at the collapse of presidential leadership in response to perhaps the worst natural disaster in U.S. history."

McGovern admits that impeachment "is unlikely ... But we must still urge Congress to act."

McGovern concludes, "There has never been a day in my adult life when I would not have sacrificed that life to save the United States from genuine danger ... We must be a great nation because from time to time, we make gigantic blunders, but so far, we have survived and recovered."