Hey Obama! What DOES Rise to the Level of Impeachable Offense?

My enthusiasm for the candidacy of Senator Barack Obama (D, Ill.) just dipped a couple of notches.

Why?

Well, I consider sound judgment and common sense to be prerequisites to taking on the most critical presidential term since, perhaps, the Civil War. See how YOU think he scores here:

Associated Press story, from the International Herald Tribune (NY Times overseas):

Obama says despite shortcomings of Bush administration, impeachment is not acceptable
The Associated Press
Published: June 28, 2007

WASHINGTON: Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama laid outa list of political shortcomings he sees in the Bush administration but said he opposes impeachment for either President George W. Bush or Vice President Dick Cheney.

Obama said he would not back such a move, although he has been distressed by the "loose ethical standards, the secrecy and incompetence" of a "variety of characters" in the administration.

"There's a way to bring an end to those practices, you know: vote the bums out," the presidential candidate said, without naming Bush or Cheney. "That's how our system is designed."

The term for Bush and Cheney ends on Jan. 20, 2009. Bush cannot constitutionally run for a third term, and Cheney has said he will not run to succeed Bush.

Obama, a Harvard law school graduate and former lecturer on constitutional law at the University of Chicago, said impeachment should not be used as a standard political tool.

"I think you reserve impeachment for grave, grave breeches, and intentional breeches of the president's authority," he said.

"I believe if we began impeachment proceedings we will be engulfed in more of the politics that has made Washington dysfunction," he added. "We would once again, rather than attending to the people's business, be engaged in a tit-for-tat, back-and-forth, nonstop circus."

Obama, son of a Kenyan father and American mother, spoke at a weekly constituent breakfast he sponsors with Illinois' other senator, Dick Durbin. He was asked about impeachment.

"I think you reserve impeachment for grave, grave breeches, and intentional breeches... " !?!?!???

What? From a Constitutional law scholar? Is he crazy? Did someone dose him with LSD, like the Beatles' dentist? Did he fall and hurt his head? I can't imagine what could possess him that massive illegal wiretapping, illegal wars of aggression, wholesale violations of the Hatch Act and the OTHER stuff ... never rises to the level of "grave breaches" let alone "high crimes and misdemeanors."

Never, ONCE? (Let alone cumulatively). And ...

"a tit-for-tat, back-and-forth, nonstop circus"???

So there's a POLITE way to impeach a sitting resident*?!?

[*I won't say it, and, you might note, I HAVEN'T called that SOB "president" ONCE while he's been in office, either verbally or in print. And I ain't a-gonna, neither. ]

It's "a circus" and it's not "grave"?

There can be only ONE explanation:

Sherman! Did you fail to smooth out the welcome mat on the Wayback Machine again?

But, how did you know, Mr. Peabody?

Elementary, Sherman: That quote made sense in 1998, and Obama's not insane, so I can only deduce that the junior senator from Illinois must have tripped and fallen through a time warp.

Gosh, Mr. Peabody. Sorry, Mr. Peabody.

Well. I guess we cleared that one up. It just goes to prove the old saying, Sherman.

What's that, Mr. Peabody?

Why, "You can't have a political circus without a lot of political clowns," Sherman.

Mr. PEA-body!

Courage.