Contrary to popular belief, impeach does NOT mean “to remove from office.”  One entry from Dictionary.com defines “impeach” as “to accuse (a public official) before an appropriate tribunal of misconduct in office.” (Source: Dictionary.com)  Think of it as a formal accusation littered with lawyers and red tape.  It’s the next step, conviction, that separates the impeached from those actually removed from office.

Armed with this knowledge, you should know that Bill Clinton WAS impeached but obviously not removed from office.  Impeachment starts with the House – if they impeach an official (majority vote), then the Senate will try the individual where a two-thirds vote is necessary for conviction.  Clinton was acquitted by the Senate after being impeached.  Blagojevich is in a similar scenario but at the state level.  The Illinois House almost unanimously impeached him, and now he is hoping the Illinois State Senate will show him some love.

 Read on:

InfoPlease.com – A Short History of Impeachment

Wikipedia – Impeachment in the United States

Barack Obama just named Hillary Clinton the new Secretary of State.  That part you probably already heard.  But what does the Secretary of State do?  In a sentence, the U.S. Secretary of State basically handles all foreign affairs.  In fact, the title used to be Secretary of Foreign Affairs.  Clinton will replace Condoleezza Rice when Obama’s term begins in January.

Read on:

U.S. Department of State

Wikipedia