Boot Bush?

Senator Chuck Hagel is launching his not-quite bid for the presidency in an intriguing way: By suggesting that the sitting president from his own party may be guilty of sufficient crimes against the Constitution to warrant impeachment.

Hagel, an increasingly vocal critic of the Bush administration's handling of the war, called President Bush's plan this year to increase U.S. troops in Iraq "the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam." ....

Hagel also told Esquire that Bush appears to believe he's no longer accountable. "You can impeach him, and before this is over, you might see calls for his impeachment. I don't know. It depends how this goes."

Gee, ya think?

Obviously, Hagel is maneuvering for political position. Still, I give him credit for going out on a limb to openly denounce the war and question the legitimacy of the president's actions; that's a stance that even most Democrats have been reluctant to assume.

Do I think Bush will actually be impeached? No -- I don't see the House Democratic leadership having the nerve to try, with memories of the fumbled Clinton impeachment as fresh as they are. Even if they did, Senate Republicans would certainly prevent a conviction -- they wouldn't want it hanging over them going into the '08 election.

But Bush certainly deserves to be taken to task for running roughshod over our liberty, constitutional protections and international peace.