John Dean and Liz Holtzman Square Off on Impeaching Bush

Former Nixon aide John Dean and former Congresswoman Elizabeth Holtzman, who were foes during the early stages of the Nixon impeachment hearings in 1973, sound off in separate interviews on the prospects of impeaching President Bush. (Dean and Holtzman will debate the topic at UCLA on Sept. 13 at a Truthdig/The Nation Institute-sponsored event.)

Excerpt:

Is it not blatantly political to undertake impeachment when there is no chance of conviction?  This, of course, is what the House Republican did with Clinton: they impeached him because they could, although they knew they did not have the votes in the Senate to convict.  Do Democrats want to mimic that sorry exercise?  I hope not.

Excerpt:

The president can be removed from office for grave offenses against our democracy. That doesn’t necessarily mean a criminal offense.

Dean: AP; Holtzman: The Nation