Jesse Jackson did the impeachment debate a favor with his December 5 article in The Chicago Sun-Times in which he registers his concern about the authoritarianism of the Bush-Cheney regime while expressing concern that impeachment carries dangers due to public perception.

Jackson concedes that Bush and Cheney "have asserted an extraordinary array of extra-constitutional powers."  He goes on to enumerate some of the more alarming excesses such as Bush's perceived right to declare war on his own and the unique ability to designate those who fall under the blanket category of enemy combatants.

In addition, Jackson covers the issues of wiretaps without warrants, arrest without charges, detention without lawyers, and torture without judicial review until the war ends.  He also correctly notes that Bush has indicated he is above review from Congress or the American public.  "Because Bush himself says the war on terror will last for decades," Jackson notes, "the scope of this assertion is staggering."

Jackson's succinct presentation of Bush unconstitutional excesses also encompasses intelligence distortion to muster public support for war along with the calamitous disgraces of widespread torture at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib.