Oversight and Accountability

Harold Meyerson gets one big thing wrong in this column about the current spate of Bush/Republican scandals.

During last year's congressional campaigns, Republicans spent a good deal of time and money predicting that if the Democrats won, Congress would become one big partisan fishing expedition led by zealots such as Henry Waxman. The Republicans' message didn't really impress the public, and apparently it didn't reach the president and his underlings, either. Since the election, they have continued merrily along with their mission to politicize every governmental function and agency as if their allies still controlled Congress, as if the election hadn't happened.

Actually, the message about Democratic congressional oversight of the administration resonated quite well with the public. One could say with complete credibility that the endless repetitions of that message were a contributing factor to the Democrats' seizing not one, but both houses of congress from the GOP. Not only did the public call for oversight and accountability on election day, they continue to call for it today.

In a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Friday-Sunday, respondents said by nearly 3-to-1 that Congress should issue subpoenas to force White House officials to testify.

[...]

The poll finds little sympathy for the administration's claim that White House aides shouldn't have to testify to ensure that a president gets candid advice. By 68%-26%, those surveyed say the president should drop the claim of executive privilege in this case.

As with so many important matters, the beltway pundit class remains way behind the American public on Bush's and the GOP's corrupt behavior.