There were only two words required of George W. Bush when he stepped up to make his State of the Union address last night: "Mea culpa."
Okay -- stretch it into three words, for a five-second soundbite: "Mea maxima culpa."
It would have been the most truthful thing he could possibly have said.
The president is guilty on all counts, and by all accounts: Lying to his countrymen, spying on his countrymen, plunging America into unprecedented debt, dissing and dismissing our allies, empowering and enriching his cronies, waging an unjustifiable war that has killed and maimed and displaced over a million people, vetoing bills, ignoring facts, promulgating fear, disregarding the Constitution, and subverting his own oath of office.
He has turned his back on the environment, on education, on health care, on veterans, and on the people of New Orleans. He has lost the futile War on Drugs, and the so-called War on Terror.
And now, his administration is trying to put a Band-Aid on the failing economy by shelling out a few hundred dollars to middle-income people and more tax benefits to corporations....when the poor, the unemployed, and the homeless are ignored.
Incredibly, the most repeated word in this State of the Union address was "trust." ("Trust me," says the con man, as he slips a joker out of his sleeve.) The American public has blindly trusted this president and his administration far too long, even handing him a second term in office.
So can we even trust our own sanity?
Congressman Robert Wexler, a Democrat from Florida, has been trying to initiate impeachment proceedings against Vice President Cheney. And why not against President Bush as well? House Speaker Pelosi said it would be "a diversion" and a waste of time. Nonsense! Instead of fiddling around with investigations into steroid use (now there's a waste of time!), our Congress could be flexing its moral muscle on a really important issue: The abuse of power in the two highest offices in the land. Even if it's coming late in the day, simply passing such a resolution would give some credibility to our elected representatives, and ensure that this president goes out in shame, as Richard Nixon did.
Nixon's actions shook America; Bush's actions have destabilized the entire world. He should not be allowed to leave office with a victorious bang, but with a disgraceful whimper.