What was John Edwards thinking when the National Enquirer story broke?

ABC News has not yet aired its interview with the former Democratic presidential candidate, but a celebrated speech by Edwards during the impeachment of Bill Clinton is interesting to re-read.

Here is Edwards on Clinton on Feb. 12, 1999:

I think this President has shown a remarkable disrespect for his office, for the moral dimensions of leadership, for his friends, for his wife, for his precious daughter. It is breathtaking to me the level to which that disrespect has risen.

Later, Edwards debated whether Clinton intended to obstruct justice when he talked with a White House employee:

We have a man who has just been confronted with this problem, who is political by nature. And do we really believe that the first thing he thought about is, "I'm going to go protect myself legally'"? I suspect the first thing he thought about is "I'm going to protect myself politically.'' He was worried about his family finding out. He was worried about the rest of the staff finding out. He was worried about the press finding out.

Hat Tip: Anne Blythe

U.S. Rep. Brad Miller felt a little out of place at a recent Judiciary committee hearing.

The Raleigh Democrat was one of several witnesses who testified in late July at a hearing on whether George W. Bush had exceeded his constitutional authority.

Speaking to reporters today, Miller said that the legal questions he raised were overshadowed by former Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich's talk of impeachment.

Other witnesses included Washington lawyer Bruce Fein, who has written a play about impeaching Bush, and Vincent Bugliosi, author of "The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder."

Miller said he was reminded of a TV character from long ago known for being the one normal person in a weird family — and shunned for it.

"I felt like Marilyn Munster," he said.

Marshall Adame has brought up impeachment.

In a post on BlueNC and the Daily Kos, the Democratic Congressional candidate raises a series of rhetorical questions about U.S. policy on Iraq, the Guantanamo prison, torture, rendition and secret prisons overseas, asking "Where was the outrage?"

When we all learned about the Secret prisons, where we took people to be tortured and that our President and Vice President had approved them; Why was our President not impeached? (bold his)

Later in the post, he says the GOP has failed to "put America First!"

"The Republican Party has betrayed all Americans regardless of party affiliation," he writes.

The ramped-up rhetoric and the mention of impeachment come as Adame faces a Democratic primary challenge from Morehead City meteorologist Craig Weber.

The winner of that primary will face Republican Rep. Walter Jones or former Onslow County commissioner Joe McLaughlin.

U.S. Rep. Walter Jones' chief of staff says he never voted to impeach the vice president. 

After Dome posted a link to a post by David Frum asserting that Jones voted to impeach Cheney, Glen Downs, Jones' chief of staff, called to say that Frum was wrong.

In November, there was an effort by Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich to impeach Cheney for "fabricating a threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction" to justify the war in Iraq.

The vote involved some strange manuevers, in which the Republicans tried to force a vote to portray the Democrats as extreme, and the Democratic leadership tried to ship the measure to committee to kill it.

Jones voted against a motion to suspend the rules and consider the impeachment measure, Downs said. Jones then voted to send the measure to committee to kill it.

"He never voted to impeach Cheney," Downs said.

Previously: Jones gets help from GOP establishment. 

David Frum praised Joe McLaughlin's campaign for Congress.

In a post earlier today, we wrote that the conservative National Review had "praised" McLaughlin, a former Onslow County commissioner running against U.S. Rep. Walter Jones in the Republican primary.

Some Jones supporters complained about that wording, so we thought we would clarify things.

David Frum, a former speechwriter for President Bush, wrote in his online blog at the National Review's Web site last November that he was hosting a fundraiser for McLaughlin because of Jones' actions:

Walter Jones, Republican from the 3d congressional district of North Carolina, has lengthened his list of destructive and embarrassing actions by joining the far-left of the Democratic House members to vote in favor of advancing articles of impeachment against Vice President Cheney.

He also said McLaughlin was a "distinguished American" who would "restore dignity" to the Republican House caucus.

Update: Jones' chief of staff says he "never voted" to impeach Cheney. 

U.S. Rep. Walter Jones is a meaty part.

The Farmville Republican is listed fifth among the cast of characters in the draft of a play about the impeachment of President Bush. The playwrights describe him as a "softspoken, passive-aggressive Southerner."

He and Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler serve as assistant prosecutors in the fictional trial, while Rep. Barney Frank is the lead prosecutor.

In the play, the Jones character questions CIA director Michael Hayden, former counterterrorist agent Michael Scheuer and former U.S. Justice Department legal counsel John Yoo.

In the fictional dialogue, Jones asks whether Al Qaeda is a greater threat than Nazi Germany, quotes James Madison as saying "perpetual warfare" is not reconcilable with freedom and says "extraordinary rendition" sets a bad precedent internationally.

Screenwriter Richard Lasser said he based a lot of the dialogue on an hourlong meeting with Jones, but he does not quote him verbatim. He said he also wanted the play to be interesting.

"We're trying to entertain people first and foremost," he said.

A Hollywood screenwriter says he'd like Peter Coyote to play U.S. Rep. Walter Jones.

Richard Lasser is trying to recruit top Hollywood talent for a play about the fictional impeachment trial of President Bush over the Iraq war.

He told Dome that he would like to cast Coyote, a character actor best known for his role as the prosecutor in "The Jagged Edge." But if TV and movie stars aren't available, he'd look for local talent in Washington, D.C.

The play is currently scheduled to premiere at a theater on the campus of George Washington University in January, shortly after the Congressional recess.

Lasser said he and co-writer Bruce Fein wrote the Jones character to be a strong advocate for truth. He compared his role in the play to U.S. Sen. Howard Baker during Watergate, who famously asked what the president knew and when he knew it.

"Having a Walter Jones is about as close as I think we're going to get in this day and age," he said.

U.S. Rep. Walter Jones is a real character.

The Farmville Republican is one of five major characters in a play about the impeachment of President Bush written by Washington lawyer Bruce Fein and Hollywood screenwriter Richard Lasser.

The two said they met with Jones and Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler in September to talk about what role he might play in an actual impeachment trial. They also wanted to make the play, called "I," as realistic as possible.

"I wanted to get an idea of his cadence," Lasser said. "I wanted to get an idea of his comportment, of his belief system, and what kinds of questions he would pose to witnesses. A lot of the questions that we put in his mouth are ones he said he would like to ask if he had the opportunity."

Lasser said Jones told him he would not introduce an impeachment resolution, but he would support one if it was introduced. He also wrote about the meeting on his blog about the play.