More of Bush's Approval Rating Nosedive...

...and similarly tepid perceptions of his economic stewardship, in this amazing polling data from the LA Times.

It took nearly 8 years of the guy, but by now, pretty much everybody has figured out how bad he sucks.

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Kucinich again calls for impeachment...

...and he remains at the top of my list of inspirational American politicians. From Congressman Dennis Kucinich's website:

Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich released the following statement upon House action today which approved his motion to refer to committee Articles of Impeachment concerning President George Bush. "The sheer volume of the Articles required a referral to provide Members with an opportunity for review," Kucinich said.

"It is now imperative that the Judiciary Committee begin a review of the 35 Articles. I will be providing supporting documentation to the committee so that it can proceed in an orderly manner. The weight of evidence contained in the Articles makes it clear that President Bush violated the Constitution and the US Code as well as International law.

"It is the House's responsibility as a co-equal branch of government to provide an effective check and balance to executive abuse of power. President Bush was principally responsible for directing the United States Armed Forces to attack Iraq," Kucinich said. "The June 5th Senate Intelligence report convinced me it was time to act."

Senate: "Turns out Bushies overstated Iraq threat"

So the U.S. Senate makes it official, five years too late. From the News Hour with Jim Lehrer:

A U.S. Senate report today directly accused the Bush administration of distorting evidence to justify the war in Iraq. The Intelligence Committee's long-delayed report echoed similar charges made in recent years. The committee said President Bush and top aides exaggerated links between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida. And it said they ignored doubts by U.S. intelligence agencies about Iraq's weapons capabilities.

The Democratic chairman, Senator John Rockefeller of West Virginia, underlined the importance of the findings. "You don't get to tell the truth just some of the time when going to war. The American people expect the government to tell the truth all the time. In too many instances in making the case for war, administration officials distorted the facts or said things that were not supported by the facts, said things that they knew or should have known were not true."

Republicans charged the Democrats on the committee were playing partisan gamesmanship. Senator Kit Bond of Missouri insisted faulty intelligence, not the administration itself, was to blame."The report released today by the majority is an attempt by my friends on the other side of the aisle to score election-year points. Even with the majority-only drafted report that twists the statements of policymakers and cherry-picks the intelligence, the report essentially validates what we've been saying for years, that the intelligence was flawed. The majority consistently leaves that out of their conclusions."

Congrats, Senator Obama...

...you're on the fast track to the presidency. Once you get there, you're going to have a hell of a lot of work to do. In the meantime, us progressives will be waiting with our fingers crossed, hoping you turn out to be one of us. From politico.com:

Sen. Barack Obama's quest for the Democratic presidential nomination ended in a historic victory Tuesday night, as the Illinois senator achieved the magic number needed to make him his party's standard-bearer. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, meanwhile, signaled that her once seemingly invincible campaign was coming to a close — though she pointedly did not concede and broadly indicated her interest in the vice presidency.

"Tonight, I can stand before you and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for president of the United States," Obama said told a cheering throng of supporters in St. Paul, Minn. "America, this is our moment. This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past."