Censure vs. Impeachment

Senator Feingold is introducing a Senate resolution today censuring the president.

Firedoglake is asking folks to call their Senators to see where they stand on censure. I'm wondering what you all think of the relative merits of censure vs. impeachment vs. doing nothing at all.

There's no question that Bush should no longer be president. He's not capable of doing the job, and that never acceptable especially during wartime.

The question remains, how best to deal with him?

While I think censure is more attainable than impeachment - well, a majority isn't going to vote for impeachment while the Republicans control the congress - censure at first feels like the wimpy option. A legislative slap on the wrist. But then it got me thinking. These are the kind of symbolic votes the Republicans and the religious right excel at. What better in an election year than to make the Republicans defend George Bush's failed presidency on live TV in front of millions of Americans?

But that still begs the question of whether we force the Republicans to defend Bush against censure or against impeachment? Well, while I think Bush deserves impeachment, and should resign from office regardless, I think the legacy of the Clinton impeachment has left a lot of Americans not quite ready for another round of impeachment hearings. Regardless of the merits, I'm not sure the American people are there yet - but that doesn't necessarily mean we don't start educating them to get them "there."

Now, in order for this to work, be it impeachment or censure, the Democrats would have to get their messaging straight, otherwise the Republicans would simply Murtha the Dems, painting them as un-American wimps attaching the commander in chief during wartime, blah blah blah. Do the Dems have what it takes to launch an effective censure or impeachment campaign? (And remember, "effective" isn't measured by whether censure or impeachment passes, it's measured by the impact this debate has on the public, on Bush's presidency, and on the coming November elections.)

Lots of questions. Your thoughts?