Tonight I wrote a lengthy message to Senator Obama expressing my dismay with his choice to cave in to the Bush criminals regarding the warrantless wiretapping that evidence suggests has been going on long before 9/11. The administration justifies this lawbreaking and intrusion on our constitutional rights by saying we needed protection from terrorists. If that is the case then why is there evidence that the government approached Joseph Nacchio of Qwest Communications fully 6 1/2 months prior to 9/11 with a request for warrantless wiretapping, in February of 2001? If Nacchio is correct in his assertion the Bush reaction to his refusal to do so without getting lawyers involved, the canceling of large government contracts, is par for the course for this administration. Emotionally, I really want to see GW Bush held criminally accountable for the most wide spread lawbreaking I’ve seen in my voting life (40 years) – but when I think about this rationally, my main concern is the willingness of the Congress and many in the public sector to stand idly by while our constitutional rights are being chipped away at. My hope is that somehow this will be rectified through the courts – retroactive immunity? That doesn’t even sound right. If people broke the law, if they violated the rights of individuals, should they get a pass because we’re afraid? If that is the case it feels to me like the terrorists are winning. What more could they ask for but for us to crumble from within? Al Qaeda got a virtual free pass when Bush chose his adventure into Iraq, based on lies that apparently we’re going to let him get away with. A covert CIA agent was “outed” which is a treasonous offense and there is ample evidence that Bush and Cheney were involved, Bush in the very least being part of the coverup, and yet no investigation. Our economy is crumbling at the seems – being steered by people who seem incredibly incompetent and interested only in their own fortunes. The republicans incredibly couldn’t come up with anyone more qualified than John McCain who is laughable and getting worse. He seems like a downgrade from Bush to me. So what is it the democrats are afraid of? Why would Obama cave on such an issue of principal? I really don’t get it. Here is the scenario that I’m really afraid of: The dems are going to just try to let GW ride out his term so they can heave a great big sigh of relief next January. In the mean time, we go into a severe recession, with hyper inflation, in our national economy and Bush, Cheney, and their cronies take a shot at Iran. Of course Iran is the big winner already from Bush’s ineptitude. About the best the US can hope for in the Iraq invasion is that the Shia ruling party takes hold and, as they are kicking us out of their country, they end up with some kind of stable country that inevitably is going to be allied with Iran, making Iran the major power of the region. Iran will be thanking Bush for years to come for getting rid of their nemesis Sadam Hussein. The mess is getting worse every day, and the democrats appear to be so focused on “winning” the next election that the losses from their inaction will possibly linger for decades to come. If Bush is allowed to, as McCain put it, “bomb, bomb, bomb Iran” the mess will be huge. Due to the fact that we have emboldened Iran, it is our responsibility to figure out how to reign them in without bringing the Middle East to the brink of a major war. I realize the people associated with Bush are OK with that because they have a long history of profiting from war (GW’s Grandfathers made a fortune selling arms to Hitler prior to WWII). This is why I can’t figure out why Obama would agree to anything to further Bush’s agenda. I read his book “The Audacity of Hope” and it lifted my spirits. And the truth is that he’s the only hope we have at this point to turn around this assault on our government, our freedoms, our economy, and our standing in the world (I can’t even imagine John McCain as president – I can’t picture that there are enough people that stupid in this country). If Obama starts to feel the urge to placate the so-called “right” we’re all in big trouble. The way I see it, if these criminals are allowed to get away with their crimes, the precedent will be devastating. I don’t trust the next president, whoever it is, to give up presidential power – even though it has been attained illegally. As they say, “What’s good for the goose, is good for the gander!” and I’m really concerned that the damage being done won’t be reversed post Bush. It needs to be done now. Impeachment is a constitutional check for situations just like this, it wasn’t intended for lying about sex. What are the democrats thinking? Bush is going to, provided he gets his free ride to the end of his term, give everyone in his administration “blanket immunity” and they are going to laugh their way to the bank with the rest of the bounty from his eight miserable years in office (not even taking into account that history will be robbed of anything that resembles the truth as to what they were really doing). While I can’t wait for Bush’s term to be “history” I will probably spend the rest of my life wondering what was wrong with these democrats to allow him to get away with this. One last thing- it has always boggled my mind that more republicans haven’t stood up against this crook. However, some people that I thought I would never be on the same side of the fence have. Noteably: Bob Barr, Bruce Fein, John Dean, and most inspiring to me Kevin Phillips. These republicans can see past the partisanship better than most that I’ve listened to or read and they recognize the danger of what is transpiring with Bush/Cheney et al (I have read a couple books each by Dean and Phillips and they are quite informative and direct in their “looks” into the action of this despicable president). I hope the Congress wakes up before it’s too late and especially in Obama’s case; the thing that most encouraged me as I got to know him was the feeling he would be a forceful leader. However, this cave-in on the warrantless wiretapping and the “trust me” comments are making me queasy and feeling that my worst fears are still in play. This country, in my opinion, has survived due to our steadfast acceptance and reliance on our written constitution. I don’t want to have to “trust” anyone with this, I just want my leaders to uphold their pledges to protect, obey, and enforce the constitution as it was written over 200 years ago!