A Wise Republican

Every now and then a Republican surprises us and is honest enough to admit that maybe a Republican President has broken the law and should be held accountable. The Republican I speak of is Senator Arlen Specter.

Sunday, Senator Specter told George Stephanopoulos that "Bush in theory could face impeachment charges if found to have violated the law by authorizing the program [the illegal spying of Americans without a court order from FISA], but he did not endorse that approach and had heard no serious talk of it."

He also said "we're not going to give him a blank check, and just because we're of the same party doesn't mean we're not going to look at this very closely. We're going to explore it in depth," Specter said on ABC television's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos."

The judiciary committee has scheduled hearings on the issue and U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has said he will testify on the administration's legal justification. The operation includes eavesdropping on U.S. phone calls and reading e-mails. The hearings are expected next month.

I personally will be watching these hearings very closely, how about you?