For almost as long as the Iraq Civil War raged post-invasion, critics have called for (now former-) Defense Secretary of State's resignation. Ultimately, it came. "Scooter" Libby was just convicted for lying about the revelation of a CIA operative's identity. The White House blamed the CIA for "intelligence failures" regarding the status of Iraq pre-invasion, yet when one puts together all the information available it is quite clear that they knew this going into the matter. The NSA has got into trouble over its warrantless wiretapping, and now, FBI surveillance has been found to have transgressed the already broad powers provided by the Patriot Act. Then, of course, there is the flap over the federal prosecutors fired for not persecuting democrats. (And don't get me started on how this affected my Congressperson, William Jefferson.)

So when is America going to ask who's responsible? Are all these high-level secretaries and chiefs of staff just rogue agents, acting alone? Or is it an orchestrated theater of deception and misuse of power? Personally, I see a pattern, and it doesn't take a genius to see it. When Democrats stormed back to control of both houses of Congress, Republicans first response was well, you better not use this as a bogus political haymaker to impeach Bush. Why not? Clinton lied about where he put his penis-an act that physically hurt no one and emotionally hurt only a few-and his credibility was so under attack that he was impeached and almost forced from office. Bush's lies (yes multiple) put this country into an unnecessary war, killing thousands of Americans and tens of thousands of Iraqis, created civil war in a country where order had once ruled (albeit not the best kind of order, but most likely more importantly here an order that was opposed to American goals). Now the whole Middle East is destabilized while the U.S. reels from a series of high level political scandals, and economic fraternizing that led to commercial favoritism over results, which left America with problems like substandard construction in military projects overseas (to aid companies friendly to the White House) and amazingly poor health care for those men and women who have sacrificed in those same places (e.g., the Walter Read situation).

So when do we ask where the Buck stops? And when do we decide that where a man or woman puts their private parts and who they decide to share such experiences with, are much less important than waging wars on other countries and affecting the outcomes of real people's lives just to make a few bucks on the side, to make a friend happy (so he can make the money), or even through misguided good intentions? Even if wholeheartedly done to better America and the world, when do the rest of us get to say, you've gone to far and betrayed everything you were trying to protect?

I say now.