Congressional Critics Aren't Hypocrites. They Are (Reformed) Cowards.

From the 11/11/05 Washington Post: The White House went on the offensive in the debate over the Iraq war yesterday, insisting that U.S. intelligence had compiled a "very strong case" that Saddam Hussein harbored banned weapons and accusing congressional critics of hypocrisy because many of them voted for force three years ago.

The White House is wrong. These congressional critics aren't hypocrites. They are cowards.

There was enough evidence three years ago to question President Bush's veracity. There were enough credible voices raising doubts about the authenticity of Mr. Bush's rationale for invading Iraq. Even so, many in Congress who should have known better buckled under pressure from the White House, abandoned their conscience, and voted to give Bush the power to invade.

That was cowardice. It reveals to us that even men and women who come to positions of great power still engage in playground games where one or two bullies can hold sway over a crowd of twenty milquetoasts. That is our national lesson: America's dearth of congressional leadership, accountability and oversight paved the way for right wing hooligans to take the wheel, and drunk with power, they have been so inebriated in the driver's seat that now the nation has crashed.

While the drunks behind the wheel -- the right wing thugs and the lawless administration -- are blaming everybody but themselves, the rest of us who happily gave them the car keys and closed our eyes are also to blame.