Washington politics

By Dave Winer on 1/24/07; 12:57:40 PM.

Politics is all of a sudden interesting. The Congress is organizing across (as opposed to along) party lines. Yesterday on NewsHour, senior Republican Senator John Warner from Virginia sounded more like the opposition than a member of the same party as the President. It's a miracle to see discourse come back to national politics. We are still in a very dark period, but it's getting brighter. And once again the brilliance and luck that's designed into our system is saving our ass. John Adams and Thomas Jefforson hated each other after George Washington left office peacefully and Jefferson's cousin John Marshall had guts. We're living in a country whose political system is largely formed around the personalities of these four men. 

Throughout the President's speech last night he expressed an idea that surely the founders, all of them, would have objected to -- the idea that the people in the room were doing The People's Work. No, that's not the idea. The idea is much heavier than that. The people in the room are the people. That's why the House is re-elected every two years, and that's why the President has to come to Congress to get approval to go to war, and that's why, when Warner reminds the interviewer that Congress is the equal of the Executive branch, she can be forgiven for needing a reminder, because for the last six years, Congress has not been doing its job. It thought it was here to serve the President. That is even further from the intent of the founders.  

No matter, the founders win this one. Right now the Congress is not only serving the interests of the people, they are acting as the people, and that of course is good. That there are so many candidates for President is a sign that the system is working. Everyone should have the guts to think their ideas as worthy of discourse. This is where the philosophy of blogging and the philosophy of the US are totally in synch. 

Jim Webb, the other Senator from Virginia, a Democrat, gave an absolutely stunning rebuttal to the President. I stood up and cheered, tears running down my cheeks. This is the kind of person that the founders imagined would be our leader. By the end of the speech I found myself hoping that Webb runs for President, although I think it unlikely that he will. But he would make a good President. I haven't felt that about anyone in a very long time. 

And also yesterday, lost in the State of the Union shuffle, were the initial revelations in the Scooter Libby trial. Fascinating, unexpected. The White House itself is becoming a circular firing squad. First the Vice-President is implicated by the prosecution, then Karl Rove is implicated by the defense. Who knew what when? Well it turns out there was a coverup. No major surprise, but it looks like it's going to come out before Bush leaves office. What then? Will there be an impeachment? In the atmosphere in Washington today, it's hard to imagine that the President wouldn't be taken to court for his crimes. And for the President, the court is the House of Representatives.  

Only one thing can save the President, it's unmentionable, but it was mentioned in a CNN interview this morning with David Gurgen from Davos. Maybe the high mountain air made him say something that you wouldn't say with your feet on the ground in the US. The one thing that could save the President, he said, is a catastrophe on the scale of 9/11/01.  

Yes, politics has gotten interesting, once again. 

Not sure if that's good or not.