but, tell me your heart didn't thrill a little when his denunciations of the bushtocracy's rush to war thundered from the floor of the senate. he did the institution, and democracy, proud in an hour of quislings and fellow-travelers -- notably, most of his party's presidential candidates. if michael kelly's in hell, the soundtrack of his eternal reward/punishment must surely be provided by bobby b.
and, if anyone deserves to profit handsomely from the current bush-lash bandwagon, should it not be the self-same patriot and constitutional scholar? i'm saying it should. turns out, he is, as we read in jules witcover's column today:
"Published on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 by the Baltimore Sun
Sen. Byrd's Indictment by Jules Witcover
Democratic Sen. Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, routinely dismissed by his colleagues as if he were some embarrassing old uncle hidden in the attic, has broken loose again.
The 86-year-old part-time country fiddler has written a scorching appraisal of President Bush and his pre-emptive invasion of Iraq titled Losing America: Confronting a Reckless and Arrogant Presidency (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393059421/commondreams-20/ref=nosim/). It confirms the old tiger as Congress' staunchest and most outspoken defender of the Constitution.
Mr. Byrd's book embellishes the familiar scolding he administered to the president in the run-up to the war. Then he would wave the little volume of the Constitution in his breast pocket as he spoke and reminded the Senate of Article I, Section 8, empowering Congress (and nobody else) to "declare war."
At the outset of his new book, Mr. Byrd quotes the 2000 candidate Bush: "Let us reject the blinders of isolationism, just as we refuse the crown of empire. Let us not dominate others with our power -- or betray them with our indifference. And let us have an American foreign policy that reflects American character. The modesty of true strength. The humility of real greatness. This is the strong heart of America. And this will be the spirit of my administration."
Then Mr. Byrd observes: "It is hard to believe that the man who said those words is the same man who now sits in the White House." "
=====
________________________________james keepnews
I've gotta say, after hearing so much about inefficiency and incompetence in Iraq, it's amazing we actually got to sovereignty ahead of schedule. We're like the Domino's Pizza of liberation!...Does this mean we'll be bringing the troops home two days ahead of schedule?
- get your war on: http://www.mnftiu.cc/mnftiu.cc/war37.html
_____music+writing+webart+multimedia performance
__________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Vote for the stars of Yahoo!'s next ad campaign! http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/yahoo/votelifeengine/