Most Valuable Progressives of 2006

Any year that begins with Bill Frist and Tom DeLay running the Capitol and ends with Frist out of politics and DeLay headed for trial gets high marks from this quarter. Throw in the polls that show the American people are now firmly in the anti-war camp, the fact that even Republicans are starting to suggest that the best word to describe the president's policies may be "criminal, the prospect that those policies will soon be under the scrutiny of House and Senate committee chairs who have actually familiarized themselves with the term "checks and balances" and 2006 ends on the best note of any year since George W. Bush and Dick Cheney launched their co-presidency.

The voters deserve a lot of credit for the taming of the shrews. But elections do not occur in vacuums. Good election results do not come about by luck or chance. They follow upon bold gestures and smart strategies by elected officials who choose to lead rather than follow, organizations that take chances and individual citizens who understand why Jefferson said that all power should rest with the people.

Here are this one columnist's picks for the Most Valuable Progressives of 2006:

* MVP – U.S. SENATE

Wisconsin Democrat Russ Feingold cinched the title in March when he proposed that Senate censure President Bush for repeatedly authorizing domestic wiretaps on American citizens without first obtaining a legally required court order. "This conduct is right in the strike zone of the concept of high crimes and misdemeanors," explained Feingold on ABC-TV's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos." Republicans cried foul. Democrats ran for cover – with the commendable exceptions of Iowa's Tom Harkin and California's Barbara Boxer. But Feingold was right, as he was right when he called for setting a date for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, built a bipartisan coalition to block renewal of the worst sections of the Patriot Act, traveled to Africa to focus attention on the need to address poverty and disease as part of a broader strategy to combat the appeal of Islamic fundamentalists, sponsored legislation urging state and local governments to establish a system to assure that every eligible voter who wants to vote is able to cast a ballot, and when he came out unapologetically for gay marriage. He was even right when he decided that, rather than mount an uphill bid for the 20087 Democratic presidential nod against better-known and better-financed contenders, he would instead focus on turning the key Foreign Relations and Judiciary subcommittees he will chair on the immediate task of challenging the Bush-Cheney administration's policies.

It is a measure of how far Feingold stands ahead of the rest of his own party that some of his stiffest competition for the MVP title came from Republicans: in particular, Nebraska's Chuck Hagel, who bluntly compared the Iraq imbroglio to the Vietnam War in which he served and who recognized long before the Iraq Study Group completed its report that talks with Syria and Iran and a renewed focus on resolving disputes between Israel and Palestine were essential steps on the path to peace in the Middle East. Credit, as well, is due Oregon's Gordon Smith for describing the president's Iraq policies as "deeply immoral" and potentially "criminal," and to outgoing Rhode Island Senator Lincoln Chafee for finishing his Senate tenure by blocking efforts to make permanent the president's recess appointment of John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

* MVP – U.S. HOUSE

Barbara Lee and her co-chair and fellow California Democrat, Lynn Woolsey, renewed the Congressional Progressive Caucus by hiring an able full-time staffer, staking out a clear set of stances that defined the left wing of the possible, holding forums and hearings on the Iraq War and developing strategies for aiding progressive contenders in House races around the country. The approach paid off. The Progressive Caucus will be the largest ideological grouping in the new Democratic House, and it has the ear – if not always the full agreement – of incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Progressive Caucus members – such as John Conyers, Charlie Rangel, George Miller and Henry Waxman -- and their allies are moving into key committee chairmanships. (Bet on Waxman, who will guide the House Government Reform Committee's investigations of Bush to be a contender for MVP next year.) Lee gets especially high marks for her dogged insistence that Congress go on record in opposition to permanent bases in Iraq – she actually got the Republican House to approve her amendments to prohibit their development. And Lee, who has made the fight against HIV/AIDS a prime focus of her congressional service capped the year off by leading a high-profile move by leaders of the African-American, Latino and Asian-American communities to get tested for the virus on World AIDS Day in order to emphasize the importance of regular testing to fight the spread of the disease.

Tips of the hat, as well, to New York Democrat Maurice Hinchey for repeatedly challenging Dick Cheney to come clean about his role in exposing the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame – as part of an effort by Cheney's office to punish Plame's husband, former ambassador Joe Wilson, for exposing the administration's misuse of intelligence regarding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq – and to another New York Democrat, Jerry Nadler, for his absolute commitment to the Constitution. Nadler, the senior Democrat on the Constitution subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, has been uncompromising and unrelenting in his calls for hearings on warrantless wiretapping, illegal detentions and a host of other Bush administration assaults on civil liberties. Now, he will be able to chair those hearings.

* MVP – EXECUTIVE BRANCH

David Kuo joined the Bush administration as an actual compassionate conservative, serving in the White House for two-and-a-half years as a Special Assistant to the president and then as Deputy Director of the Bush's Faith-Based Initiative. Horrified by the cynicism of the administration, and the barely-cloaked disdain of key players in the White House for the president's religious base, Kuo came clean. He condemned the administration for failing to deliver on its promises to the poor, noting that when issues related to the supposed compassionate-conservative agenda of the president arose: "The White House legislative affairs office rolled their eyes while others on senior staff yawned." In the end, Kuo explained, "From tax cuts to Medicare, the White House gets what the White House really wants. It never really wanted the ‘poor people stuff.'"

* MVP – STRATEGIC VISION BRANCH

The Democrats actually made more progress on the state level than the federal level in 2006, winning a majority of governorships and an overwhelming majority of state legislative seats. A lot of the credit for those victories, which are essential to the long-term progress of the party, goes to Progressive Majority, the five-year-old multi-issue political action committee (PAC) that was established to enhance the political effectiveness of the progressive movement. Working on local and state-legislative races, Progressive Majority has recruited, trained and steered resources to dozens of candidates – with a special focus on women and people of color – who form the "farm team" for future statewide and congressional campaigns. The dramatic Democratic advances in Colorado – where the party took full control of state government for the first time since John Kennedy was president – Wisconsin, Washington, Ohio and Pennsylvania were a byproduct of Progressive Majority's smart and effective grassroots approach. Indeed, Progressive Majority has been so successful in the seven states where it has operated that party leaders and activists in other parts of the country are clamoring for the group to come into their states.

* MVP – ACCOUNTABILITY BRANCH

When Russ Feingold moved to censure Bush, the activists of the AfterDowningStreet.org coalition – who had been pushing for the better part of a year for a congressional inquiry into the administration's warping of intelligence to fit its Iraq War goals – adjusted their focus to promote an even broader and more aggressive critique of the Bush presidency. Nancy Pelosi may have tried to take impeachment off the table, but the AfterDowningStreet.org crew, led by the indomitable David Swanson, kept forcing it back on. Their coalition's website remains the "go-to" place for the latest on investigations, inquiries, subpoenas, legal actions and every other move to hold this president and vice president to account. And their passion for empowering citizens to promote "impeachment from below" and other accountability initiatives has forged a loose-knit but very real national movement. Watch for this movement to get a lot more attention in March, when a drive organized by Newfane, Vermont, town selectman and impeachment impresario Dan DeWalt and others will see dozens of town meetings endorse articles of impeachment.

* MVP – CITIZEN BRANCH

Thomas Jefferson said when left the presidency that he was retiring to a higher position: that of citizen. And it is as a citizen that another former president, Jimmy Carter, continues to make profound contributions to the nation. Increasingly frustrated by the failure of both the Bush administration and Democrats in Congress to take seriously the duty of U.S. officials to operate as honest brokers in the festering dispute between Israel and Palestine, Carter penned the most important book ever written by an ex-president: Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid (Simon & Schuster). Carter's frank assessment of the history and current character of the Middle East peace process has earned him vilification from those who would maintain an untenable status quo. Old friends and allies have abandoned him because of his willingness to echo the sentiments of Israeli peace activists by declaring that: "Palestinians must live in peace and dignity, and permanent Israeli settlements on their land are a major obstacle to this goal." Carter has been let down by a U.S. media that is supposed to encourage open debate and discourse. And, yet, he has persevered in explaining to true friends of Israel and Palestine the need to recognize that a lasting peace, while possible, will not be achieved until the United States and other powerful nations get serious about promoting sincere negotiations. "An overwhelming majority of citizens of Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, and Palestine want peace, with justice for all who live in the Holy Land," argues Carter. "It will be a shame if the world community fails to help them reach this goal." As a citizen who happens to have a Nobel Prize for Peace on his mantle, Carter is doing his part to avert that shame.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

John Nichols' new book, THE GENIUS OF IMPEACHMENT: The Founders' Cure for Royalism has been hailed by authors and historians Gore Vidal, Studs Terkel and Howard Zinn for its meticulous research into the intentions of the founders and embraced by activists for its groundbreaking arguments on behalf of presidential accountability. After reviewing recent books on impeachment, Rolling Stone political writer Tim Dickinson, writes in the latest issue of Mother Jones, "John Nichols' nervy, acerbic, passionately argued history-cum-polemic, The Genius of Impeachment, stands apart. It concerns itself far less with the particulars of the legal case against Bush and Cheney, and instead combines a rich examination of the parliamentary roots and past use of the "heroic medicine" that is impeachment with a call for Democratic leaders to 'reclaim and reuse the most vital tool handed to us by the founders for the defense of our most basic liberties.'"

The Genius of Impeachment can be found at independent bookstores and at www.amazon.com

Comments (88)

1. His admiration for Feingold is creepy and lustful. (hey; I'm first!)

   Posted by woodyee at 12/29/2006 @ 3:20pm

2. Burying the lead, Mr Nichols?

   "and it has the ear – if not always the full agreement – of incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi."

   Ears are great....agreement counts though!

   Posted by Mask at 12/29/2006 @ 3:25pm

3. True conservatives can only hope the MVP list are actually on the candidates list this 08 election...the progressives, while may increase their numbers on the left,.. will absolutely boost numbers on the right...

   Posted by john maasch at 12/29/2006 @ 3:38pm

4. ...and sad that he's chosen to honor an anti-semite like Jimmy Carter. But, that's the "pruhgrehsihve" movement these days...

   Posted by woodyee at 12/29/2006 @ 3:55pm

5. Democrats, Liberals, Progressives, KNOW foreign AND domestic policy. We told you so about the disaster in Iraq, we oppose privatization of Social Security, WE are the intelligent people.

   Conservatives, Authoritarians, Republicans, KNOW NOTHING - about foreign policy, about domestic policy. They were WRONG, they had their heads in the sand about the disaster in Iraq, and they still have their heads in the sand about Social Security, Republicans have their head up their ass about global warming, denying reality, clinging to falsehoods, spouting idiocy - and it has ever been just so since Reagan insisted he had to give weapons to Saddam Hussein. Republicans are still fighting the cultural war over the Vietnam disaster without noticing the rising tide over the Iraq disaster. What a shame, what a disgrace.

   You Authoritarians castigate these Progressive American heros but deep down inside you REALLY KNOW that you are not the intellectual elites - in fact you are far far less than human. Authoritarians deserve the abiding hatred of 7 generations to follow - thats an optimistic minimum - SHAME on Authoritarians who want to corrupt American values - SHAME on Republicans.

   Posted by LiberalPride at 12/29/2006 @ 3:56pm

6. ...and sad that he's chosen to honor an anti-semite like Jimmy Carter. But, that's the "pruhgrehsihve" movement these days...

   Posted by WOODYEE 12/29/2006 @ 3:55pm

   Is this misspelling of progressive supposed to be an insult to them or you? I have heard this about Jimmy Carter before. What did he do or say that he is now anti-semitic?

   Posted by MiddleWay at 12/29/2006 @ 4:19pm

7. LIBERALPRIDE - I agree with you about the "I told you so" mentality from the more liberal-minded people in this country. If I knew that the war in Iraq was a sham when it was being discussed four years and 2900 dead soldiers ago, why didn't the media or our leading politicians?

   Most of us know (at least those smart enough to see reality clearly and ethically) that Bush is a joke and is giving the term "lame duck" a whole new meaning. As a country, we just have to survive 2 means years of this atrocious tyranny, and then, maybe, if we are lucky, we'll get a new leader, DEM or REPUB that will try to actually do something for THIS country. I don't know....hmmm...maybe universal health coverage, feeding the poor, joining the global community to save our planet. Geez, it's too bad that Iraq is the most pressing problem in U.S. politics. Sad.

   Posted by NM Dem at 12/29/2006 @ 4:20pm

8. LIB and NM DEM,

   Do you the current Democratic party "get's it" though?

   I heard an interview with Scott Ritter where he says that most Americans are against the war now only because we are "losing". He contends that if we had gone in and quickly won the peace, none of us would be talking about the legality or ethicality of the war now.

   Posted by MiddleWay at 12/29/2006 @ 4:28pm

9. Posted by MIDDLEWAY 12/29/2006 @ 4:28pm | ignore this person

   I saw that interview, and Ritter is correct, if cynical and a bit too broad. there are and were many americans against the Iraq war from the very beginning. there is one excuse for the american people, including the congress, THEY WERE LIED TO AND THEY WERE ATTACKED. without 9/11 the Iraq war is pretty much inconceivable, as is Bush's second term.

   Posted by johannesrolf at 12/29/2006 @ 4:41pm

10. Do you the current Democratic party "get's it" though?

    I heard an interview with Scott Ritter where he says that most Americans are against the war now only because we are "losing". He contends that if we had gone in and quickly won the peace, none of us would be talking about the legality or ethicality of the war now.

    Posted by MIDDLEWAY 12/29/2006 @ 4:28pm

    He's right. Very few opposed it initially and very few would give a damn if we had come out smelling like a rose regardless of how many Iraqis we killed and with or without WMDs' being found. Most of the Democrats would be claiming credit for supporting it.

    Posted by fromredbird at 12/29/2006 @ 4:53pm

11. ...and sad that he's chosen to honor an anti-semite like Jimmy Carter. But, that's the "pruhgrehsihve" movement these days...

    Posted by WOODYEE 12/29/2006 @ 3:55pm | ignore this person

    Criticize Israel for anything and you're an anti-semite. Woodyee, you and Johannes have a lot in common.

    Posted by mtspence05 at 12/29/2006 @ 5:23pm

12. It could have been a success,

    post-invasion Japan: success post-invasion Germany: success post-invasion Serbia: success (is it a major disaster like Iraq?)

    It should have been a success, provided any will at all to succeed, but liberal geniuses knew that the Authoritarian George Bush admin had no such intention - privatization and stripping of Iraq was the entire agenda.

    The Salvadoran Option as it was called by ambassador Negroponte who went on to be appointed Director of National Intelligence by George Bush - was confirmation that defeat was inevitable. As was the firing of the first administrator of Iraq, Jay Garner, because he wanted early elections. The very fact that the neo-Authoritarians were running the show was all the evidence intelligent people needed to understand JUST HOW BAD it was going to get - and heres a FACT: the depths of the quagmire have not yet been fathomed. Only Liberal Geniuses understand that IRAQ WILL GET WORSE. This is a FACT folks, you Authoritarians who want to deny reality are only making it worse for America.

    The fact is quite alot of Democrats opposed this disaster and the House and Senate vote counts EXIST - look them up. If I recall correctly, it was a majority of Democrats who were smart and every Republican to the last who were stupid.

    Americans are dying in Iraq - 107 in the last 31 days.

    It is ironic, conflating opposition to Israeli Authoritarians with anti-semitism. But Conflating Issues is a big part of the #1 Authoritarian tactic throughout history: LYING.

    I had a girlfriend 6 months ago and I did advanced sex techniques on her. Note: forbiddensextips.com, masterful-lover.com - you read this life-changing information right here on the Nation website from a liberal with no ties whatsoever to those instititutions. She was head over heels, she was ready to do 3somes and everything. Turns out, she was an Isreali hard-liner. I knew she was Jewish but I like Jews. Most jews are in fact cool - Judaism is a better religion than either Christianity or Islam - I used to listen to Hebrew chants on Jim Hurtak tapes - I loved it. So anyway this chick one day starts slamming the Palestinians, calling for Palestinians to be killed, all I explained to her was that since there are far fewer Palestinians than Israelis and far more Palestinian deaths, that therefore the Palestinians have had it worse. She got all cold, she asked me why I hate Jews?????! Last I ever spoke with her - its her bigtime loss.

    Posted by LiberalPride at 12/29/2006 @ 5:24pm

13. MIDDLEWAY - Time will tell if the DEMS "get it." To be hoenst, there are few politicians on either side of the aisle that I support. I just squint and try to see whatever good comes my way - a kind of "grin and bear it" approach to being an American, I guess.

    Now FROMREDBIRD - Just because the gutless politicians didn't oppose the war (publically) because they would appear weak, whatever, doesn't mean that the lying, deceitful manner of our administration is in anyway justified. Anyone with half a brain knew that this would be the exact result if we invaded Iraq (see Bush Sr.). As well, it set a really terrifying precedent for this country. Remember the chatter about invading Iran? The Middle East is nothing but a powder keg, and all it took was 3 minutes reading up on Wikipedia to see this massacre coming from a mile away. Oh, that's right, our president doesn't read (nor care) about what is REALLY going on in the world.

    Posted by NM Dem at 12/29/2006 @ 5:28pm

14. Well, of course the uhh...lectorate will "elect" Edwards in 2008. By then, the economy will be about ready to collapse in on itself, and Dumbassocrats can be nicely blamed for losing Iraq.

    And now, I defer to the wrong-winged cretins, who seem to spend every waking moment hitting F5 on this web site.

    Posted by Left is Right at 12/29/2006 @ 5:29pm

15. "I had a girlfriend 6 months ago and I did advanced ..."

    Posted by LIBERALPRIDE 12/29/2006 @ 5:24pm

    Is this the liberal version of a "Penthouse Forum" letter?

    LOL!

    Posted by Mask at 12/29/2006 @ 5:30pm

16. Also...

    Democrats, Liberals, Progressives, KNOW foreign AND domestic policy.

    Posted by LIBERALPRIDE 12/29/2006 @ 3:56pm

    LP, the year 1979....Dem Congress and Dem President....

    what was the domestic and foreign situation under them?

    (hints---"stagflation" and "hostages"...in case you need some help)

    Posted by Mask at 12/29/2006 @ 5:32pm

17. LIBERALPRIDE - Could have done without the sex tips :)

    Just FYI - I am a proud Jew, and I support Palestine in their battle for having their own slice of the pie in that desert of raving lunatics. So, am I anti-Jew? No, I am anti-stupidity. The Israeli's heads are so far up their own asses that they don't see how much of the problems are their doing.

    Posted by NM Dem at 12/29/2006 @ 5:39pm

18. Posted by LIBERALPRIDE 12/29/2006 @ 5:24pm

    Glad you could make use of my websites. If only you have visited my www.KeepingYourHotZionistGirlfriendHotWhileShowingHerTheLight.com for a few extra pointers.

    Posted by tjbehrens1 at 12/29/2006 @ 5:41pm

19. NM, you mischaracterize Israeli public opinion and the state of politics there. they are just as divided as we are, with a large percentage supporting a separate state for west bank palestinians. they too will have to turn their backs on the right wing gov't they have been suffering from, as we surely have. Carter is by no means an anti semite, his bona fides vis a vis Israel are secure, the Camp David accords.

    Posted by johannesrolf at 12/29/2006 @ 5:43pm

20. TJ, funny, funny and 100% racist free too.

    Posted by johannesrolf at 12/29/2006 @ 5:45pm

21. And if we want to define "most valuable progressives" as those individuals who had the biggest impact on whatever subtle shift we experienced away from the far right, I think we need to begin with folks like Scooter Libby, Tom DeLay, George Allen, Rick Santorum, and all the many other nasty shits who made being far right as evidently horrifying to all as many of us have known for years.

    Posted by tjbehrens1 at 12/29/2006 @ 5:46pm

22. JOHANNESROLF - I was just responding to the notion that just because you are Jewish that you have to support all policies of Israel. I am completely aware of the conflict between the ultra-conservative and liberal Jews on this matter.

    Posted by NM Dem at 12/29/2006 @ 5:46pm

23. And why am I not surprised to see freepers call Carter an "anti-semite"? I do love it, though: Condemn Israeli policy, no matter how obviously contemptible it actually is, and you're a racist. Hey, guess what, that fits in with calling someone a terrorist and anti-patriot for criticizing President "Death On Two Legs".

    Is one to assume that criticizing North Korean policy would also make a person a racist?

    Their aren't enough blows to the head in the world to make your freeper bullshit seem even mildly palatable, let alone sensible.

    Posted by Left is Right at 12/29/2006 @ 5:47pm

24. What would there be to be happy about in 2006 were it not for the self-destruction of so many prominent republicans? The democrats have not inspired anyone this year and the progressive community was able to tread water at best, still bobbing in a relatively isolated part of the pool even though it continues to be more consistently correct in analyzing the country's most important issues than any other faction.

    Posted by tjbehrens1 at 12/29/2006 @ 5:49pm

25. left, I have not come across the term "freepers" before, define please.

    Posted by johannesrolf at 12/29/2006 @ 5:50pm

26. LEFT IS RIGHT - what does "freeper" mean? Who are you raging at here?

    Posted by NM Dem at 12/29/2006 @ 5:50pm

27. Posted by TJBEHRENS1 12/29/2006 @ 5:46pm | ignore this person

    the proverbial silver lining.

    Posted by johannesrolf at 12/29/2006 @ 5:51pm

28. TJ - I completely agree with your assessment. In 2006, it's not that the DEMS did so much right, but the REPUBS just really messed up more. That's what really switched the Senate.

    Posted by NM Dem at 12/29/2006 @ 5:53pm

29. TJ - the DEMS are just the better of two evils - they just suck a little less than the REPUBS

    Posted by NM Dem at 12/29/2006 @ 5:54pm

30. Heres a less threatening story for some of you, I had a friend in highschool, there were alot of racists in my highschool and he was one of them. I laboriously talked him out of neo-nazism. He truly hated the jews. Eventually, he came to thank me for talking him out of his self-limiting extremism. Years later he became a neo-Authoritarian George Bush supporter and he accused me of "hating the Jews"????! Today after serving as a contractor in Iraq he hates George Bush and thanked me yet again for trying to talk him out of his self-limiting Authoritarian beliefs.

    On another note - no one gets it. America has a full-fledged civil war brewing. The "Conservative" Authoritarians really do want to enslave, kill, and torture the rest of us - really they do. They want to destroy the world. When will enough Americans realize this fact.

    Posted by LiberalPride at 12/29/2006 @ 5:56pm

31. It should be noted that the common bond between my highschool friend and I was .... marijuana. Legalize it

    Posted by LiberalPride at 12/29/2006 @ 5:58pm

32. My condolences to some of your girlfriends, if any

    Posted by LiberalPride at 12/29/2006 @ 6:01pm

33. It should be noted that the common bond between my highschool friend and I was .... marijuana. Legalize it

    Posted by LIBERALPRIDE 12/29/2006 @ 5:58pm | ignore this person

    That's why the right is so anti-marijuana.

    The Repubs are playing with fire pandering to the religious right. They're ideologues! There's nothing more un-American than an inability to compromise.

    Posted by mtspence05 at 12/29/2006 @ 6:02pm

34. TJ - the DEMS are just the better of two evils - they just suck a little less than the REPUBS

    Posted by NM DEM 12/29/2006 @ 5:54pm | ignore this person

    Amen.

    Posted by mtspence05 at 12/29/2006 @ 6:03pm

35. Posted by NM DEM 12/29/2006 @ 5:54pm

    Better?

    Posted by tjbehrens1 at 12/29/2006 @ 6:09pm

36. Ok Ok, I was a a-hole, turns out I myself had to be dragged kicking and screaming to study the aforementioned techniques, as were many who have.

    Posted by LiberalPride at 12/29/2006 @ 6:09pm

37. Posted by LIBERALPRIDE 12/29/2006 @ 5:58pm

    Not sure where the marijuana thing came from, but it reminded me that I heard or read somewhere that the third leading crop grown in Florida is now pot. (I can't remember what number two is...strawberries maybe?). It was over half a billion dollars in the last annual estimate. Lotta tax dollars not collected. Wonder what the national total might be. Just think what could happen to the price of pot if Sam's Club and CostCo started selling monster bags of it legally.

    Posted by tjbehrens1 at 12/29/2006 @ 6:13pm

38. Posted by LIBERALPRIDE 12/29/2006 @ 6:09pm

    Dragging, kicking, screaming...that, as I recall, is part of lesson number twelve, section C.

    Posted by tjbehrens1 at 12/29/2006 @ 6:14pm

39. It is the number 1 crop in California.

    Posted by mtspence05 at 12/29/2006 @ 6:14pm

40. And the courts' rational for getting involved in a state's decision to legalize is more than faulty. It has nothing to do with interstate commerce.

    Posted by mtspence05 at 12/29/2006 @ 6:15pm

41. Posted by MTSPENCE05 12/29/2006 @ 6:14pm

    Really?!

    Posted by tjbehrens1 at 12/29/2006 @ 6:15pm

42. Yeah, that was in the paper the other day.

    Posted by mtspence05 at 12/29/2006 @ 6:19pm

43. U.S. growers produce nearly $35 billion worth of marijuana annually, making the illegal drug the country's largest cash crop, bigger than corn and wheat combined, an advocate of medical marijuana use said in a study released on Monday.

    The report, conducted by Jon Gettman, a public policy analyst and former head of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, also concluded that five U.S. states produce more than $1 billion worth of marijuana apiece: California, Tennessee, Kentucky, Hawaii and Washington.

    California's production alone was about $13.8 billion.

    Posted by tjbehrens1 at 12/29/2006 @ 6:21pm

44. Now, if the Dems want my vote next round, pot legalization needs to be on the platform.

    Posted by tjbehrens1 at 12/29/2006 @ 6:23pm

45. Cannabis has been recently described as the leading agricultural crop in the country. one has to presume they were measuring it in dollar amounts, as the stuff is so very expensive. I belong to a farm coop and once a week the farmer brings down our veggies, which invariably includes some herbs, alas not that one. our share is typically a large handful or two. and so it would be with cannabis, the regular stuff would be quite cheap, think parsley. the special stuff, lovingly hand cultivated would still be more expensive, think chanterelle mushrooms, $20 to $40 a pound. even with high taxes added infinitely cheaper than now. now we pay twice, once for the "law enforcement" and once to the dealer, god bless them.

    Posted by johannesrolf at 12/29/2006 @ 6:23pm

46. It's taboo. The reactionary House under Tip O'Neil was responsible for the draconian federal drug laws that give out time like it was candy. There's no beating a federal conspiracy case.

    Posted by mtspence05 at 12/29/2006 @ 6:24pm

47. Prohibition should be the lesson, but, once again, you're dealing with ideologues. You can get whatever drug you want in a federal prison; how can you hope to keep drugs out of the country?

    Posted by mtspence05 at 12/29/2006 @ 6:26pm

48. Posted by JOHANNESROLF 12/29/2006 @ 6:23pm

    Turn legalization into a law enforcement issue then? So many people are doing it with still nothing to link its use to the crime or health problems we see with alcohol consumption, so we need to free our good deputies from inspecting and destroying crops to fighting real crimes.

    Posted by tjbehrens1 at 12/29/2006 @ 6:28pm

49. There's so much money involved. The government gets to confiscate everything--you can be at the wrong house at the wrong time and they'll confiscate your car; then you have to fight to get it back. Plus law enforcement gets all kinds of grants for their drug fighting efforts.

    Posted by mtspence05 at 12/29/2006 @ 6:30pm

50. Now, if the Dems want my vote next round, pot legalization needs to be on the platform.

    Posted by TJBEHRENS1 12/29/2006 @ 6:23pm

    Or else....what? "Greens"? Nader and Florida-2000 faded from memory, TJ?

    Posted by Mask at 12/29/2006 @ 7:02pm

51. Dems did fine this year without my vote. Seems the perfect time to start making demands if they wish to expand their base to re-include me. Truth be told, I haven't even seen pot (though the fragrance has wafted past a few times) since the earliest months of the Clinton era.

    Posted by tjbehrens1 at 12/29/2006 @ 7:09pm

52. Posted by TJBEHRENS1 12/29/2006 @ 7:09pm

    I'm for legalization (smoked like 3 times in 25 years!), but it'll take a Republican conservative to finally enact it.....just like it took a Dem (Bill Clinton) to pass welfare reform.

    Posted by Mask at 12/29/2006 @ 8:15pm

53. Posted by TJBEHRENS1 12/29/2006 @ 7:09pm

    (cough)

    'ere.

    Posted by Malcontent at 12/29/2006 @ 8:26pm

54. Ah! The good old day's...when legalization, NAFTA and the DMCA seemed like the biggest issues, instead of quaint notions of "problems".

    Maybe, after many years more sane governance, we can undo all that's been done in the last 5yrs. and address these problems, finally.

    Eric

    Posted by Malcontent at 12/29/2006 @ 8:31pm

55. ...of more sane...

    Posted by Malcontent at 12/29/2006 @ 8:32pm

56. The practice of medicine has undergone a dramatic change in the last couple of decades. It's called evidence based medicine. This means developing guidelines and treatments based upon reproducible facts.

    Wouldn't be great to have public policy based on facts?

    There is too much money being made eforcing current drug laws, so I doubt much will change.

    I wish a Dem or Repub would actually get some "cohones" and start talking facts. Seems like a lot of people would respond to this.

    Posted by MiddleWay at 12/29/2006 @ 8:49pm

57. Posted by MIDDLEWAY 12/29/2006 @ 8:49pm

    Fat chance as long as the religious cult-based Republicans have any influence in American government:

    "Due to pressure from Bush Administration officials, the National Park Service is not permitted to give an official age for the Grand Canyon. Additionally, a book claiming the Grand Canyon was created by Noah's flood is for sale at the National Park's bookstore."

    Sorry, forgot the link but that's pretty much all there is to the story. It's at Huffingtion Post.

    Posted by fromredbird at 12/29/2006 @ 9:10pm

58. We in Wisconsin are proud of our Senator, Russell Feingold. We would have supported him for a presidential run, but are happier that he has chosen to stay and serve on the important Senate committees to bring progressive values and love of our constitutional rights into focus for the nation. The American people have no advocate better than Russ Feingold. He stood virtually alone in condemming the war in Iraq, the "Patriot Act" and warrantless wiretapping as unconstitutional and unnecessary. He is a true patriot and a champion of the people's rights.

    Posted by mlichter at 12/29/2006 @ 9:13pm

59. Now FROMREDBIRD - Just because the gutless politicians didn't oppose the war (publically) because they would appear weak, whatever, doesn't mean that the lying, deceitful manner of our administration is in anyway justified. Anyone with half a brain knew that this would be the exact result if we invaded Iraq (see Bush Sr.). As well, it set a really terrifying precedent for this country. Remember the chatter about invading Iran? The Middle East is nothing but a powder keg, and all it took was 3 minutes reading up on Wikipedia to see this massacre coming from a mile away. Oh, that's right, our president doesn't read (nor care) about what is REALLY going on in the world.

    Posted by NM DEM 12/29/2006 @ 5:28pm

    Calm down. I said to a Republican in November 2002, in regard to the "mushroom cloud" propaganda, "They're f****** lying.", and, "America will leave Iraq with it's tail between it's legs." That's no reason to overlook the perfidy of most Democrats who voted FOR the invasion of Iraq rather than AGAINST it.

    Posted by fromredbird at 12/29/2006 @ 9:18pm

60. Just FYI - I am a proud Jew, and I support Palestine in their battle for having their own slice of the pie in that desert of raving lunatics. So, am I anti-Jew? No, I am anti-stupidity. The Israeli's heads are so far up their own asses that they don't see how much of the problems are their doing.

    Posted by NM DEM 12/29/2006 @ 5:39pm

    Thank you for that. I know that isn't easy. I have been, I think, the person here most often smeared with the anti-semitism label by the likes of LVLIBERTY1, MASK, BRUNOWE, JOHANNESROLFE and others. Ask them to point out the anti-semitism, however, and they go silent. I've also been the target of Julius Streicher-type scapegoating material like this from the last mentioned:

    who knows WHAT redbird does for a living?

    I am announcing a contest. winner, most creative, will receive a virtual palm d'or.

    Posted by JOHANNESROLF 11/09/2006 @ 5:31pm

    I'll start things off. he used to have a job emptying Arafat's bedpan. since that individual is dead, I imagine he performs the same service for his wife, who isn't.

    Posted by JOHANNESROLF 11/09/2006 @ 5:41pm

    Posted by fromredbird at 12/29/2006 @ 9:28pm

61. NM, you mischaracterize Israeli public opinion and the state of politics there. they are just as divided as we are, with a large percentage supporting a separate state for west bank palestinians. they too will have to turn their backs on the right wing gov't they have been suffering from, as we surely have.

    Posted by JOHANNESROLF 12/29/2006 @ 5:43pm

    Mystifying, isn't it, how those "right-wing" governments keep getting elected without any public support? And that's with the minority of votes from the not-yet-ethnically-cleansed Palestinians living inside the borders of the state of Israel included.

    Nothing remotely like that is going to happen until Israelis realize that there will be consequences to their extensive and elaborate support from the USA unless it happens.

    And nothing like that is going to come from the currently constituted Democratic Party. The Democratic Party is, in fact, more in bed with the Israel lobby than the Republicans.

    Posted by fromredbird at 12/29/2006 @ 9:42pm

62. We in america are proud of your Senator, Russell Feingold.

    Posted by johannesrolf at 12/29/2006 @ 9:43pm

63. RED - I agree with you. The DEMS were gutless chicken-shits when the war Pres. came a knockin'. They have no right to talk about anything if they voted like they did. DEM or REPUB, gross ignorance came from both sides. No argument there.

    Also, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Xmas, and may life be better for all Americans (and citizens of the world) in 2007!

    Posted by NM Dem at 12/29/2006 @ 9:47pm

64. The government gets to confiscate everything--you can be at the wrong house at the wrong time and they'll confiscate your car; then you have to fight to get it back. Plus law enforcement gets all kinds of grants for their drug fighting efforts.

    Posted by MTSPENCE05 12/29/2006 @ 6:30pm | ignore

    Some time ago, I read a story in the newspaper that got me so upset, I felt compelled to write several 'letters to the editor' to my local paper (among many other actions). Seems that law enforcement officers (or maybe it was DEA) confiscated a commercial fishing boat because they found that one of the fishermen the boat had hosted that particular day, had the butt of a reefer (a roach?) in his shirt pocket. Under cover of RICO law, they confiscated the boat, owned by a poor guy who's business was to take people fishing!!! Imagine the legal contortions that poor guy went through to try to get his boat back...which he never actually did, in order to continue his struggle, just to make a living!

    I've always considered this to be a grand example of the Republican 'law and order' mentality...run amok.

    Posted by Lillian at 12/29/2006 @ 10:19pm

65. I ditto LiberalPride. As for Scott Ritter, he is right, too. There's something about "winning" and being #1 in middle American mentality that supports this view. If people and members of Congress - except for Barbara Lee and Dennis Kucinich - didn't have enough intuition or knowledge to realize that they were being lied to, this fact reflects quite poorly on them. Why did they trust the Bush Administration more than the U.N. experts and inspectors? Why did they not see the lack of connection between 9/11 and Iraq? Weren't they aware of the neocons goals established in the New American Century? C'mon !!

    Posted by Marita Garr at 12/29/2006 @ 11:40pm

66. Posted by LVLIBERTY1 12/30/2006 @ 12:58am

    I'm confused...you're gonna meet up with saddam?

    Posted by Malcontent at 12/30/2006 @ 01:13am

67. Now he can meet face to face the devil who inspired him to be so cruel.

    Posted by LVLIBERTY1 12/30/2006 @ 12:58am

    I'm confused...you're gonna meet up with saddam?

    Posted by MALCONTENT 12/30/2006 @ 01:13am

    I agree with you Eric, you are confused!

    Posted by LVLIBERTY1 12/30/2006 @ 01:22am

    No, he isn't confused. LVLIBERTY1 is the closest thing on this blog to Satan.

    Posted by fromredbird at 12/30/2006 @ 03:48am

68. . . a handful of individuals who have had ties to CAIR in the past have been convicted or deported for financial dealings with Hamas--another reason cited by Boxer for her action. The senator directed her staff to withdraw the certificate--which she routinely gives to community leaders in California--and asked that a statement she had previously made endorsing CAIR be stricken from the group's Web site, Ravitz said in an e-mail.

    Posted by LVLIBERTY1 12/30/2006 @ 01:52am

    Has Boxer ever broken relations in the past with any contributor or supporter who also contributed money to the terrorist Jewish Defense League, many of whose members have been convicted in this country of terrorist acts like bombings? Hamas has never been accused of, much less convicted for any such act against this country.

    This is nothing more than 100 proof hypocrisy which explains why it thrills your hateful soul so much.

    Posted by fromredbird at 12/30/2006 @ 03:55am

69. "It should surprise none of us who believe in the war on terror that there is a total absence of comment on justice being meted out tonight on Saddam Hussein.

    The Iraqi people are now permanently free from this brutal dictator."

    posted by LVLIBERTY1 12/30/2006 @ 12:58am

    Isn't this the same dictator we put in charge, and gave weapons to, and gave poison gas to, and turned the other way when he used it on his own people, and would still be supporting if he'd only kept being our good Middle East servant? The Iraqi people are now free? Give me a break!

    I asked you once before LV, why do you think we were attacked on 9/11? I'll give you a hint; we have done some "evil" things to the people in that region for a long damn time. You think we should now celebrate the death of this man for what he did to the Iraqi people? How many of their lives was it worth to finally put an end to his reign?

    And do me a favor. Drop the whole "liberal vs conservative" thing. Your constant labelling of everyone who does not happen to agree with you is getting old.

    Posted by MiddleWay at 12/30/2006 @ 07:15am

70. Saddam was convicted of killing fewer people than Timothy McVey. his execution prevents his trial of the many more he killed in his 30 year reign of power. his death will likely lead to more and more deaths in Iraq. the last month has been the deadliest for US troops in Iraq. Has it been worth it?

    Posted by johannesrolf at 12/30/2006 @ 09:55am

71. lv?l The great antichrist has spoken once again clueless as ever. your attempts to pander to the conservative rationalization machine is pathetic. For someone who claims to be a religious person your posts prove beyound a doubt that you are a servant of Lucifer.

    Posted by dycel8r at 12/30/2006 @ 1:08pm

72. I personally find the pollyanna tone of Mr. Nichol's article horrifying, under the current circumstances. No "progressive" is doing anything effective to change the status quo. I'm supposed to be congratulating people who eloquently complain and become outraged for a living? Nothing is being changed by that kind of activity, nor is it likely to be. Actually, it's counterproductive, because it provides an opportunity for catharsis - a chance for people to feel relieved by the fact that someone saying what they are thinking. Tell me which one of these "valuable" progressives is petitioning the government for redress of grievances, and then advocating a tax revolt if they don't respond? That is the only possible effective means of holding this criminal administration accountable, given the fact that Congress and the Supreme Court are too corrupt to fulfill their duties to the people of this country. But, of course our "valuable progressives" won't take such a risk! They, like the rest of the thinking population in this pathetic country, are too comfortable and too afraid. People all over the world will continue to suffer and die for the cowardice of "valuable progressives". We have no reason to be patting ourselves on the back.

    Posted by bljarvi at 12/30/2006 @ 9:42pm

73. Great piece by John Nichols. President Carter is proving to be one of our greatest assets. The future looks good, dare say. Also thanks for the ignore this person feature.

    Posted by tomearnist at 12/31/2006 @ 04:19am

74. Yeah, without heroes/models it's tougher to change/adapt. Thanks Professor Nichols!

    Posted by lewwelge at 12/31/2006 @ 06:57am

75. Tell me which one of these "valuable" progressives is petitioning the government for redress of grievances, and then advocating a tax revolt if they don't respond? That is the only possible effective means of holding this criminal administration accountable, given the fact that Congress and the Supreme Court are too corrupt to fulfill their duties to the people of this country. But, of course our "valuable progressives" won't take such a risk! They, like the rest of the thinking population in this pathetic country, are too comfortable and too afraid. People all over the world will continue to suffer and die for the cowardice of "valuable progressives". We have no reason to be patting ourselves on the back.

    Posted by BLJARVI 12/30/2006 @ 9:42pm

    True, but sometimes "cowardice" is merely an astute estimation of reality. Critical mass has not been achieved. The trade-off (prison) is not worth the bargain (widespread public indifference and little or no change). The pathway to success has not been cleared. These people and groups Mr. Nichols congratulates are merely clearing the brush. Others must follow and pave the way.

    Posted by ciotog17 at 12/31/2006 @ 07:28am

76. "Also he openly dengrates God's chosen people and the proof of biblical and archelogical history which confirms their right to the land of Israel." --Posted by RIO BRAVO 12/30/2006 @ 01:58am

    RB, I guess you're ready to give the Americas back to the "rightful" owners? I mean, based on archeological evidence and the mandate of (in this case their) god(s) . . . no?

    Posted by Rintrah at 12/31/2006 @ 08:41am

77. I am a liberal but I am embarrassed that you you agree with Jimmy Carter's views in respect to Israel.

    Posted by Stan5555 at 12/31/2006 @ 4:21pm

78. The list left off the most valuable and most necessary progressives of 2006. Dennis J. Kucinich is the only Democrat who stood consistently between the U.S. and war with Iran in 2006. Dennis has continued to lead the fight against the war in Iraq. While others were applauding the Israeli massacre of innocent Lebanese people, Dennis worked to get a cease fire. He filed legislation to abolish the death penalty and to abolish nuclear weapons. He is the only peace candidate running for President. He is working to end the war by cutting the funding. The majority of so-called progressives in Congress have blood on their hands from all the blood money they've authorized.

    Other names you left off the list were Cynthia McKinney and Paul Koretz. Cynthia was the only member of Congress who dared to file impeachment legislation against Bush, Cheney and Rice. In the California assembly, Paul Koretz amended existing legislation to turn it into an impeachment bill against Bush.

    While the rest of the Democratic Party is cowering and refusing to follow the mandate of November 7, 2006, these three have shown that they are true progressive leaders on whom we can rely.

    Posted by zandar at 12/31/2006 @ 9:19pm

79. The list left off the most valuable and most necessary progressives of 2006. Dennis J. Kucinich is the only Democrat who stood consistently between the U.S. and war with Iran in 2006. Dennis has continued to lead the fight against the war in Iraq. While others were applauding the Israeli massacre of innocent Lebanese people, Dennis worked to get a cease fire. He filed legislation to abolish the death penalty and to abolish nuclear weapons. He is the only peace candidate running for President. He is working to end the war by cutting the funding. The majority of so-called progressives in Congress have blood on their hands from all the blood money they've authorized.

    Other names you left off the list were Cynthia McKinney and Paul Koretz. Cynthia was the only member of Congress who dared to file impeachment legislation against Bush, Cheney and Rice. In the California assembly, Paul Koretz amended existing legislation to turn it into an impeachment bill against Bush.

    While the rest of the Democratic Party is cowering and refusing to follow the mandate of November 7, 2006, these three have shown that they are true progressive leaders on whom we can rely.

    Posted by zandar at 12/31/2006 @ 9:20pm

80. More heroes! Yeah!

    Posted by lewwelge at 12/31/2006 @ 11:27pm

81. "Most Valuable Progressives of 2006 John Nichols | Russ Feingold, Barbara Lee, David Kuo, AfterDowningStreet, Progressive Majority and a citizen named Jimmy Carter shined."

    He "shined", in the title of the article...that shine Jummy Carter was sportin'....that is from the shalacking he took a few years back...and the even bigger one he would take today....

    ..and to be fair,yes, he is the best ex President we have ever had and he builds houses for the homeless, which is admirable and genuine...and it is fitting that he build them since he and his policys have contributed in creating so many homeless..21% interest and 22% inflation....for staters...he may have eliminated many problems we are paying for today had he helped Khomeni's plane land a little short of the runway a few years back...

    Posted by john maasch at 01/01/2007 @ 10:19am

82. John Edwards has taken a lead from Jimmy Carter which shows a lot of character. As for Clinton, Obama and Edwards, none have come out with a comprehensive plan for cleaning up the environment. This is what I'm waiting to hear. If Obama runs, he'll get all the younger vote and that's a handful. Frankly, I believe Clinton would be a spoiler and if she won the nomination it eould amount to a shoe-in for McCain; which would be a disaster for our nation. We don't need a person even resembling Bush and McCain is a mirrlor image. There is time left to decide and listen very cosely to what is said by those who aspire to become the next president. Why don't we save our criticisms and bravos for awhile?

    Posted by uglyduckling at 01/01/2007 @ 12:51pm

83. Ugh! Ducking opportunities to lawd leaders is akin to grounding good news (the gospels). Don't wait. Praise be! (Samantha Bee, et al!)

    Posted by lewwelge at 01/01/2007 @ 1:20pm

84. So where does the most valuable Democrat Howard Dean fit into this picture??

    Posted by smartypuss at 01/01/2007 @ 4:57pm

85. The Iraqi people are now permanently free from this brutal dictator. Of course he would still be committing mass murder, torture, genocide, and funding terrorism in Israel and elsewhere, if the libs had their way instead of being about to become worm food.

    Posted by LVLIBERTY1 12/30/2006 @ 12:58am

    Iraq has worms? There are no worms in the desert. That is until someone from the bush administration stops by for one of those heart stopping, petrifying, pants shitting two hour visits to the green zone.

    Then there are worms.

    Posted by Will C. at 01/01/2007 @ 5:44pm

86. Bon appetit

    Posted by Will C. at 01/01/2007 @ 5:44pm

87. Go Progressives! But, hey, even Progressives, why has there been so little focus on the recent revelation that Ford admitted to Bob Woodward during an interview in 2005 that he pardoned Nixon because they were friends? This is by far the most disturbing and underdiscussed news this year, and unfortunately explains the perspective of our Presidents since Ford and Nixon. Ford's first mission as head of the Executive was to enforce the rule of law. We now know he was derelict. He admittedly favored cronyism over enforcing the rule of law against a President who broke it badly. And America will continue to reel from the outcome until a President is held to the rule of law.

    Ford's pardon for friendship set a precedent and tone that has guided Republican Presidents through our current one:

    Reagan had 29 convicted criminals in his Administration. No other President in the history of the United States has come anywhere near this low watermark. Ronald Reagan had some impressive accomplishments as President, but rampant corruption throughout his Administrations tarnished him severely.

    Bush Sr. pardoned Cap Weinberger and five others implicated in the Iran-contra scandal. Just like the present day scheme to spy on Americans without a warrant, the secret arms-for-hostage scheme directly violated a law passed by Congress to prevent it. And to make matters worse, Cap and his associates had begun to testify under oath that Bush Sr. was involved despite his denials of any knowledge of the scandal.

    Yet again, with an ex-Nixon official in Cheney as Vice President no less, our current President secretly violates the law ironically passed by Congress to try to ensure that the Nixon excesses do not recur. And Bush authorizes the broad proliferation of covert torture techniques by or on behalf of our government, denies they occurred, and when that fails he tries to justify them as not being torture because they allegedly are not as bad as the experience of an organ failure.

    Ford dropped the bar to the floor. He opened the floodgates. And Americans will continue to suffer the steep price until a President finally is held accountable for breaking the law. Three out of the three subsequent Presidents from Ford's Party were corrupt. And the right will argue that Clinton was corrupt in the Monica scandal - if you believe this constitutes corruption warranting dismissal (personally I am still on the fence on this because of the personal and consensual nature of the wrongful conduct), then that makes four out of five corrupt Presidents since Ford opened the floodgates by pardoning Nixon.

    Every reasonable person, left and right, must agree that it is of paramount importance that our Executive, especially our Executive in Chief, adhere to the rule of law. It should not be necessary to declare that our Executive is not above the law. Our Executive is not entitled to secretly break the law because some officials think they know best. We have entrusted the officials in our Executive, including our President, to enforce the law, not to break the law! When our Executive-in-Chief violates the law and orders others to do so, our faith and our trust is broken.

    Our Founding Fathers designed our government to rule by force of law, by a process that involves checks and balances, and under solemn rules with which we all must comply. No one, especially our Chief Executive himself, sits above the law as an all-powerful dictator.

    Without a rule of law we have nothing. We are nothing. If there is anything we can learn from current events and bestow on future generations, it is the principle that we must follow the rule of law. And the only way we can do that is to hold lawbreakers, including especially our President, accountable under the rule of law. The only way to impose the rule of law on our Chief Executive is to enforce it against our Chief Executive when he violates it. That is what we must do to President Bush, not just to punish him, but to set an example for all future Presidents that compliance with the rule of law is not just one of many available options.

    In fact, after sleeping through Saddam's execution, President Bush said the day after:

    "Saddam Hussein's trial is a milestone in the Iraqi people's efforts to replace the rule of a tyrant with the rule of law. It's a major achievement for Iraq's young democracy and its constitutional government."

    It is ironic that the thrust of this statement, that the rule of law must prevail over a leader who does not act according to the rule of law, applies as well with equal urgency to President Bush.

    http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-ford-nixon.html?_r=1&oref=slogi n&pagewanted=print

    "``I looked upon him as my personal friend. And I had no hesitancy about granting the pardon because I felt that we had this relationship and I didn't want to see my real friend have the stigma,'' Ford, who died on Tuesday at age 93, told journalist Bob Woodward in a 2005 interview.

    Ford had long said he pardoned Nixon because he wanted to mend the divisions of Watergate. In his speech announcing the pardon, he acknowledged his friendship with Nixon but said his concern was for the country and not personal sympathy for the disgraced former U.S. leader.

    Woodward was one of the Post reporters who unraveled the Watergate affair after operatives with Republican Party ties broke into the offices of the Democratic National Committee at the riverside Watergate hotel and office complex in 1972.

    Nixon, facing impeachment for trying to cover up the affair, ultimately resigned and handed over power to Gerald Ford, whom he had appointed to the vice presidency following Spiro Agnew's resignation in October 1973.

    The Post reported on Friday that Nixon and Ford had been strong friends long before Nixon named Ford as his vice president, a factor often overlooked in research on the period.

    The newspaper cited as an example a conversation recorded by the White House in May 1973, while Ford was serving as the House of Representatives Republican leader.

    ``Any time you want me to do anything, under any circumstances, you give me a call, Mr. President,'' Ford told Nixon. ``We'll stand by you morning, noon and night.''"

    Posted by JD8 at 01/01/2007 @ 8:10pm

88. It's about time someone on this blog (Zandar) mentioned the name of Rep. Dennis Kucinich. As a grateful resident of Ohio's 10th congressional district, I can attest to his progressive and compassionate vision.

    Posted by Namkoong at 01/03/2007 @ 6:29pm