Oh, The games they play in Washington.

House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers of Detroit expressed “grave concerns” about “excesses” of President Bush and his administration Friday in an all-day hearing at which lawmakers and constitutional experts sparred over whether Bush should be impeached.

“We are not done yet, and we do not intend to go away until we achieve the accountability that Congress is entitled to and the American people deserve,” Conyers said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has repeatedly said impeachment is off the table — a position endorsed by Conyers. So it wasn’t clear what the hearing would actually accomplish.

“To the regret of many, this is not an impeachment hearing,” Conyers said, adding that the House has to vote to hold an impeachment hearing.

Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Calif., quipped the hearing should have been called “Impeachment-lite” because it allowed Bush critics to make serious charges about the president without actually launching a real impeachment inquiry.

The lead witness was Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, the author of 35 articles of impeachment against the president, largely over his contention that Bush intentionally misled the public and the Congress to launch an unjustifiable war.

“The decision before us is whether to demand accountability for one of the gravest injustices imaginable,” Kucinich said.

But several Republicans on the committee and their expert witnesses accused Bush’s critics of simply wanting to criminalize policies they don’t like, adding that the charges against Bush over his handling of the war could as easily be made against other wartime presidents, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson.

The hearing was sprinkled with dramatic moments.

Cindy Sheehan — the anti-war activist whose son was killed in Iraq and became famous for her protest outside Bush’s Texas ranch — shouted out from the audience at one point. Conyers ordered her to leave. “Shame, shame, shame,” activists chanted.