Good One from the Bull Moose

Marshall Wittmann, who blogs at Bull Moose, was one of my earliest and most frequent stops when I started reading blogs. His pithy commentary and centrist-oriented posts are regular must-reads for those of us who pride ourselves on 'raging moderation' (as Norm Ornstein put it the other night on "The Colbert Report").

Today's Bull Moose post wonders if Republicans are beginning to reconsider whether victory in the '04 presidential race was actually a good thing, given the many pits the Administration has fallen into since then. I agree with much of what he says, and recommend the post to all of you.

While the Moose and I have not agreed on the important implications of the NSA wiretap program, I do agree with him that the censure resolution to be offered today by the junior senator from Wisconsin is not in the best interests of the Democratic Party, the Senate, or the country. It will only further poison an already-too-partisan atmosphere at a moment when partisanship is the last thing we need, and may serve to bring some Republicans who have been critical of the president's actions back into the fold.

We do need a comprehensive investigation into the actions of the Administration, and if that reveals wrongdoing, actions should then be taken. The Congress should not shirk its oversight responsibilities here - aside from asserting their authority now, they should also examine the president's past actions. But a censure resolution does none of that, and simply creates more problems when I think we can all agree we've got plenty of those on our plate already.

[Update: Some further thoughts on the censure idea over at TMV. -- 7:58 p.m.]