The Arlen, My Friends, Is Blowing In The Wind...

In case anyone was all excited about the possibility of Arlen Specter standing up to Dick Cheney and the rest of Dubya's goons:

I'm not accusing anybody of anything. And I'm not saying the vice president acted in bad faith.

This is nothing personal between Arlen Specter or Vice President Cheney. This is a matter of civil liberties. It's a matter of separation of power. And it's a matter of important congressional oversight. And, so far, we're not getting there. And that's why I prepared a fairly strong letter. . . .

I don't think the president has acted in bad faith here. I think he is functioning on something which he thinks needs to be done to protect the country. But he doesn't have a blank check. He's not the final word. We have a Constitution. The Constitution says that the Congress has oversight. And, on a constitutional issue, that's the Judiciary Committee.

There, you see? Nothing to worry about, it was all just a big misunderstanding. The President is a fine man and he means well, and I'm sure that after Senator Specter conducts a thorough investigation, we'll all see that the President has done absolutely nothing wrong. And if not, you can be sure that there are plen-ty more strongly-worded letters where that came from.

I don't know about you, but I'm breathing easier already.

(Hat tip to The All-Seeing Eye Of Froomkin)