I’m not so sure the Bush Administration’s “run out the clock” strategy with the subpoenas is going to work out so well. Compare with what happened during Watergate :

In April 1974, the House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed the tapes of 42 White House conversations. At the end of that month, Nixon released edited transcripts of the White House tapes. The transcripts revealed conversations concerning the punishing of political opponents and the halting of the Watergate investigation. The Judiciary Committee, however, rejected Nixon’s edited transcripts, saying that he did not comply with their subpoena.

Sirica, acting on a request from Jaworski, issued a subpoena for the tapes of 64 presidential conversations to use as evidence in the criminal cases against the indicted officials. Nixon refused, and Jaworski appealed to the Supreme Court to force Nixon to turn over the tapes. On July 24, the Supreme Court voted 8-0 in United States v. Nixon that Nixon must turn over the tapes.

In late July 1974, the White House released the subpoenaed tapes. One of those tapes was the so-called “smoking gun” tape, from June 23, 1972, six days after the Watergate break-in. In that tape, Nixon agrees that administration officials should approach the Director of the CIA and ask him to request that the Director of the FBI halt the Bureau’s investigation into the Watergate break-in on the grounds that the Watergate break-in was a National Security matter. In so agreeing, Nixon had entered into a Criminal Conspiracy whose goal was the Obstruction of Justice — a felony, and an impeachable offense.

Once the “smoking gun” tape was released, Nixon’s political support evaporated. Every single Republican on the House Impeachment Committee who had voted against impeachment in committee announced that he would now vote for impeachment once the matter reached the House floor. In the Senate, it was said that Nixon had at most a half dozen votes.

Facing impeachment in the House of Representatives and a probable conviction in the Senate, Nixon announced his resignation, to take effect at 12 noon on Friday, August 9, 1974.

From April to early August 1974. That’s barely four months between the subpoena and resignation.

Then again, this isn’t the 70’s anymore. People aren’t dumb enough to bug themselves the way Nixon and his gang were and the Bush gang have perfected the art of destroying incriminating evidence. The President may have screwed up everything else he’s tried to achieve, but he has been successful in packing the courts with judges who buy his “unitary executive” theories. Democrats are now a slow-paced, cowardly lot still trying to find their next JFK. And the modern Republican party doesn’t care about obstruction of justice anymore. So while I think the President’s plans to run out the clock aren’t going to work, the prospect of an inevitable impeachment is virtually nil.