Merry Fitzmas

Daily Kos has introduced a new meme: Fitzmas.

It includes the following advice.

Lower Your Expectations: Hey, it worked for Laura Bush. Don't expect too much from this. We don't know what was said in that grand jury room; about all we know definitively is that Karl Rove has a "typical" garage. Fantasies of Cheney being indicted and Bush as unindicted coconspirator are just that at this point--fantasies. Trust the Fitz to do what's right based on the evidence, and trust that the result will be as far as he was legally able to go.

Here's hoping that things turn out as expected. If I've been a little quiet on Plamegate, it isn't for lack of interest.

Today I was thinking about a history professor who talked about Watergate as a political atonement for the sins of Vietnam. The domestic antibodies for the Iraq disaster are only getting started. I suspect that Patrick Fitzgerald's indictments -- and the careers that they end -- are a preview of further institutional collapses.

If taking pleasure in the imminent indictments of executive officials seems crass, think about the alternative. Not to get idealistic and shit, but if it weren't for the rule of law and public transparency, the kinds of actions under investigation would trigger coups and purges.