Why Kucinish was Wrong to File Articles of Impeachment Against Cheney

Dennis Kucinich has filed articles of impeachment against Vice President Cheney.  In an earlier article I called this a half-hearted attempt at defending our Constitution.  http://www.gpln.com/halfheartedattempts.htm  Here are my reasons for saying that:

1. The Vice President has only one job to do according to the Constitution.  He is President of the Senate.  He does not need the President's permission to do the job he was elected to do and he doesn't need to follow the President's agenda when doing his job.  He doesn't work for the President unless the President asks him to do something in addition to his official duties.  If he elects to do a specific job outside the scope of his official duties he is acting as the President's agent.  It is the President who is responsible for what Cheney does or does not do and it is the President who stands behind Cheney and affirms his behavior.  At that level of government, not knowing what Cheney is up to and not staying informed or finding out, would make him incompetent, criminally negligent, a fool, or all three... for whatever Cheney does for the President is the President's responsibility and he's obligated to know about it.  Under the circumstances, failing to know what Cheney is up to would be an impeachable offense in and of itself.  Therefore, whatever crimes or impeachable offenses Cheney has committed was done with or for the President.
2. The list of crimes for which the Vice President might legitimately be charged is a long one ( http://www.gpln.com/livethedream.htm ) and it is negligent and irresponsible of Kucinich to leave them out, for by doing so, he limits his own prerogative to bring those issues before the American public in order to expose the crimes for which the President, the Vice President, and their administration are responsible.
3. By not including the President in his articles I assume that he is afraid of the political fallout.   I see it as a missed opportunity and his unwillingness to press the case to its fullest degree is unfortunate at best.

Now let me say in his defense that he, at least, has more courage than most of his colleagues.  For he for sure did more than they did.  But this effort is doomed to fail for it is timid and doesn't open the space for the full disclosure of the much longer list of crimes for which this administration should be held accountable and in contempt.  I give him an "E" for effort.  I give the rest of the House an "F" for failing to uphold their oath of office.  And I give the Senate an "F" for the same thing (no one in the Senate is asking members of the House for a more full, fair and complete list of articles).

I believe that in not filing articles against Bush, it would have been better not to file these articles at all, for it gives the impression that maybe Kucinich and/or anyone who signs on with him do not believe that Bush is a co-conspirator with Cheney.  That is, indeed, an unfortunate footnote to the historical record.