And today, again, like every day since November 2004, I’m grateful for presidential term limits. It’s not because I see such promise in the field of potential future presidents, either. In fact, I find the array of choices spans the gambit from completely inappropriate to sadly unelectable.

It’s just that, I don’t know about you, but I am relieved that the next presidential election can’t possibly pit Hillary Clinton against George W. Bush.

And, believe it or not, it’s not even political. I just don’t think I could stand the despicable double standard. You see, these two have one very important character trait in common, best summed up by that great 20th century philosopher Tammy Wynette.

Our president has taken “stand by your man” to a whole new level.

Did you catch the Senate Judiciary Committee’s questioning of Alberto Gonzales? I must admit, I couldn’t have listened more closely if someone had stapled my ear to the radio. And even though I caught myself drooling a time or two, in the pit of my stomach I had a deep and abiding stir.

As I listened to Arlen Specter, the senior ranking Republican on the panel, I sensed that he had the same knotting sensation growing in his gut. I leaned back as yet another thread unraveled of the synthetic fabric woven around this presidency and I realized that I felt shame.

Oh, it’s certainly not the first time this leadership has made me ashamed of our government, but I can usually spread the blame out around the entire political spectrum. Whether it’s Gov. John Baldacci serving up our National Guard, or Rep. Tom Allen voting for war funding, or Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins approving the activist Supreme Court justices who just this week allowed politics to interfere with the decisions made by women and their doctors, there’s plenty of shame to go around.

Dictionary.com defines shame as a noun, “the painful feeling arising from the consciousness of something dishonorable, improper, ridiculous,” and as a verb “to disgrace.”

There you have it. The president has disgraced us as a people. With help, as mentioned above, but also through his own self-absorbed actions and willful disregard for how his actions hurt the people and the Constitution he professes to defend.

Sen. Specter, in his closing remarks, pointed out that only two people mattered in this decision: Gonzales and Bush. The attorney general serves at the pleasure of the chief executive. And if Gonzales doesn’t quit, only the president can fire him.

No matter how difficult it is for the Justice Department to function, no matter how mortifying the spectacle at the hearings, George W. Bush will stand by Gonzales. Why?

Maybe because Gonzales is invaluable as he performs the dictates of the president without question. Maybe because he can take hour after hour of humiliating questions, responding 73 times that his Harvard-educated faculties fail him and that he can’t recall pertinent details. Maybe because for the first time in U.S. history, as detailed during the hearings and admitted to by Gonzales under oath, a White House staff member (Karl Rove) helped decide which attorneys would lose their jobs and which would stay.

Remember the Monica Lewinsky scandal? Certainly not the first time that America learned that President Clinton broke his marriage vows. How the piranhas circled Hillary. How they chastised her for not dumping Bill and making a proper example to women everywhere. Her loyalty was seen as a character flaw.

After they ridiculed Hillary, her critics turned to accusations: “They probably have a deal and she knows he cheats.” “He probably has her permission.”

Maybe the president knows Gonzales cheats; maybe the president wants him to cheat.

History is riddled with critical moments. Some societies rise to the challenge and some fall victim to their own frailties. While Bush has run amok, our country has had opportunities to stop him and we have failed.

It’s not about Bush standing by Gonzales anymore. It’s about us standing by Bush. If you want to stop sounding like a ’70s country tune, there’s a rally you might like to attend this Saturday. More information is available at MaineImpeach.org.

And remember what Tammy Wynette said: “‘Cause after all, he’s just a man.”

Pat LaMarche, a former Green candidate for governor and for vice president, can be contacted at PatLaMarche@hotmail.com.