Republicans once complained about Bill Clinton using recess appointments to bypass Congress and install Bill Lann Lee in a post in the Justice Department. Now, Democrats are complaining about Bush using recess appointments to bypass Congress and put Thomas Dorr in a job in the Department of Agriculture. At the same time, Republicans who once protected Senator Alfonse D'Amato from punishment (or even much embarrassment) over his ethical violations are complaining, correctly, that Democrats are protecting Senator Robert Torricelli from punishment (or even much embarrassment) for similar breaches.
Add to this the fact that, once upon a time, Republicans felt that every nook and cranny of Whitewater absolutely had to be investigated and, when it was and no Clintonian wrongdoing was uncovered, it all had to be investigated again and again. Democrats said, "Hey, it's old news, already cleared," but now it's Republicans saying that about old Bush/Cheney business deals and it's the Democrats saying, "This has to be investigated."
You can cite other examples as easily as I can. The point is that none of this has anything to do with taking a position on principles. It's all about getting the other guy and saying whatever it takes to make that happen, and everybody knows that.
I'm still waiting for the prominent politician who can rise above this…the one who'll put principle over party, even if if means standing up for The Enemy and/or missing opportunities to bash them. And despite my cynicism, I think that person is going to come along in the next few years…because, if he or she does, he or she is going to have two-thirds of the nation behind them.