‘Why should he be impeached—what has he done that he should be impeached?’ ‘Well,’ replied she, ‘he hasn’t done anything yet, but I hope to God he will.’ ” That woman’s response, if typical, suggested that impeachment does require a criminal offense, a breaking of the law rather than an abuse of power, a subversion of Congress and hence a failure to execute the laws of the people. But, as some reasonably argued, shouldn’t deplorable, bigoted, or reckless acts be considered impeachable, particularly if they weakened or flouted other branches of government? In that case, impeachment shouldn’t be
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