But, for the sake of further discussion, let's move beyond Hagel's fundamental misunderstanding of American civics. Since his main complaint against the president seems to be that he is not marching to the commands of Congress or the people, isn't it interesting that without a fortuneteller or divining rod we can't even be sure what those commands are?

If public opinion surveys were to be binding on the president, which ones should he heed? (Where are those silly computer polls candidate Ross Perot promised when you need them?) But if we voters are supposed to be the collective commander in chief, perhaps we should forfeit our franchise as well for vacillating and sending mixed signals to the president on Iraq.

Indeed if congressmen want to impeach the president for not following their dictates, perhaps they should first tender their own resignations for the same reason. That is, Democrats claim they were elected to majority control in 2006 with a mandate to end the war in Iraq, and yet, without grotesque bribes from the public treasury they can't even muster a majority to pass a resolution to enforce their "mandate."

Someone needs to deliver Sen. Hagel and his like-minded congressional colleagues a memo explaining that the president is commander in chief and that he cannot be fired either by Congress or the people in the absence of committing high crimes and misdemeanors, which involve monumentally more than policy disagreements with the legislative branch. If anything, it is certain congressmen, not the president, who are exceeding their constitutional authority by attempting to usurp the president's lawful power as commander in chief.

Populist politicians are fond of congratulating themselves for attempting to implement the public's will, but it was just such demagogues the Framers had in mind when they installed safeguards in our constitutional framework to prevent a mobocracy.

Sen. Hagel owes the people, who he claims to represent, an apology for his reckless rhetoric.