Carl Bernstein Calls for a Senate Investigation of the Bush Presidency

Carl Bernstien, famed Washington Post journalist who along with Bob Woodward began the ball rolling on Nixon's impeachment, lays out the case for a senate investigation of every aspect of the Bush presidency - from pre-9/11 to the illegal Iraq war to the disastrous handling of the Hurricane Katrina aftermath and every misstep in between.

Bernstein states that calls for impeachment and censure may be "premature" at this point and that what is really required is the formation of a committee of senators with subpoena power to call witnesses under oath to testify about what's really been going on in the administration. He relates the progression of the gathering evidence against Nixon that drove his Republican colleagues to pursue a similar course of action which eventually resulted in his impeachment.

Bernstein has laid out all of the evidence and concerns in a concise and persuasive fashion and certainly stakes his claim as the "Anti-Bob Woodward" by refusing to shill for this administration as Woodward has continually done the last few years.

The question remains, however: will the Republicans in congress decide that Bush truly is threatening their hopes to remain in control as the November elections loom or will they continue to cosign the administration's behaviour? As I noted before, the Republican-led congress is now having to deal with its lowest poll numbers - 23% approval - since 1994. Bernstein believes that a senate investigation may actually boost those ratings as public sentiment against Bush continues to show that he is no longer a president that can be trusted. Taking on Bush may be just what the Republicans need to fall back into favour with the people they are supposed to be serving.

Bernstein notes that the senate hearings held about Nixon's presidency lasted only six months. If congress agreed to hold those hearings at this point, they would run very close to the upcoming November elections (assuming they might take approximately the same amount of time). Republicans may not feel confident at this point that whatever might be revealed through such hearings would actually be a benefit in the long run, since there is little doubt that their congressional actions and failures would also be heavily scrutinized in the process.

Regardless, Bernstein's article is definitely recommended reading because it details the parallels and differences between the Watergate situation and the current presidency. The political climates are very similar. What's left to be seen is whether this congress will take its responsibility to serve the country as seriously as those involved in congress, regardless of the political repercussions, did back in 1974.