Given the surprisingly high numbers supporting the activation of impeachment proceedings against George W. Bush (and the actual plurality in favor of impeaching Cheney), it's fair to say that impeachment isn't a marginal position anymore. After all, a large tax on gasoline polls far lower than 39 percent, but elite pundits have no problem talking through and popularizing the idea. Which is a good thing.
Part of why it's useful to have an unelected media is that they can air potentially unpopular proposals so the public has time to learn more and decide how they'd react, and politicians can make a more informed decision on whether to pursue such legislative avenues. Impeachment proceedings, particularly in light of this poll (and we know how the media looooooves talking polls), should get some chattering class attention -- and not just in the "those-crazy-liberals" sense. When it's 40 percent of the country, it ain't crazy. It's more than currently support the Iraq War, which the president insists on continuing, and given what a radical option impeachment is, such high rates of support deserve considerable examination.
This is all different, to be sure, than whether we should actually impeach Bush. Unlike Matt, I'm actually more a fan of the Impeach Cheney option. Many of the worst abuses originated in his office, both polls and intuition suggest it's a more political appealing route, and the actual impacts of erasing Cheney would be considerably more positive than impeaching Bush and thus elevating Cheney.
Update: Stephen comments:
Us rubes in the heartland don't count, unless we're a prop used in a column to tell us what we're supposed to think.
Maybe the next step in press management is to begin keeping tabs on the travels of major American political commentators and then orchestrate their entrance into cabs where the drivers will spout pre-written, pithy statements in favor of such things as universal health care, impeachment, etc.
