The Cowboy-in-Chief is the cowboy in charge. Top cowpoke. If George W. Bush wants to leak classified information that could endanger lives, he'll do it if he wants. Eavesdrop on peaceniks? You betcha, if he wants, and if he chooses to classify antiwar activists as terrorist sympathizers, that's what he's gonna do. Why? Because he can. He's leader of the free world, so he gets to call the shots. His band of outlaws rustled the 2000 election fair and square — that gives him the right to do as he pleases. Doesn't matter if what he wants to do is immoral. He, after all, is the arbiter of morality. God told him so. And if what he wants to do is illegal, well, he'll just ignore the law. The rules don't apply to him. He says so.
Sound preposterous? Think again.
Over the past six years, Bush has challenged more than 750 federal laws (among them, torture bans, statutes mandating congressional oversight of presidential decisions, and Patriot Act provisions) under his assertion that the president has the right and the authority to bypass any law that disagrees with "his interpretation of the Constitution." Of course, this declaration of his constitutional omnipotence was always done under the radar: After a bill signing, once media, lawmakers, and guests had exited, he would at times issue a signing statement, a set of instructions detailing how he wants the new law implemented. In some instances, his instructions wipe out compromise provisions already agreed upon by both houses of Congress — and unless senators and representatives regularly read the federal register, where news of presidential signing statements are published (though not widely seen), they often are clueless about what has transpired.
In a way, one must admire the cleverness involved here, the sheer pluck. Bush spends a good bit of his time stumping for a line-item veto when, in truth, he already has it. The only chief executive since Thomas Jefferson to serve six years without ever officially vetoing a bill sent to him by Congress uses another route to circumvent legislative-branch decisions, one that renders supposed lawmakers... Well, take your pick: Dumb. Impotent. Punk'd.
The journalists were no wiser than those in Congress. Mainstream media didn't catch on until a tiny story about the White House, the National Security Agency, and illegal-but-Shrub-approved domestic wiretapping brought Bush's assertion of his unquestionable power to light.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Michael J. West
Echoes of Nixon. "If the President orders it to be done, that makes it legal."
2 - Casey Lunkley
Great article. If only more people agreed with your way of logic, our country wouldn't be going to hell.
3 - Blue Meanie
It just makes me anticipate November even more eagerly. Just imagine all the fun and fireworks if Blue state people finally get some oversight, and subpeona power to smack around the arrogant scofflaws who have been ruining our country for the last 6 years.
Vote, people, vote.
4 - NR Davis
I've been thinking about Nixon a lot lately. What if he had said 30-odd years ago that as prez, nothing he did could be illegal? Would it have been accepted then?
The thing is, signing statements are nothing new. Presidents before Reagan used them RARELY, knowing full well that an unchecked executive is a dangerous thing - the founders included checks and balances for a very good reason. Reagan had no such knowledge or didn't care about the reason behind it and opened the skirt-the-law floodgates. Since then, Bush I and Clinton have sailed through those same un-American waters, but Bush II, with more than 750 challenges, puts Poppy and the Slickmeister to shame. Shrubbie has used signing statements to avoid following the law more times than both his dad and his immediate predecessor combined. Will the masses find *that* acceptable?
5 - Chicago
President Bush is doing the work that President Clinton failed to do.
1) Iraq kicks out weapons inspectors, fires missiles at US military jets and violates other signed agreements after Gulf War I.
Action: President Clinton fails to execute Sadam Hussein using missiles fired from US warships. (Which was against international law enacted by President Carter.)
Action: President Bush gave Sadam the option to leave Iraq peacefully or else. Sadam choose or else. President Bush gave the government of Iraq a peaceful option, which they did not choose.
2) Bin Laden is a known high-level terrorist. Funding and training terrorists.
Action: President Clinton fails to assassinate Bin Laden.(Which was an act of war committed on Afghanistan by firing a salvo of missiles from US warships.)
Action: President Bush demands the Taliban hand over Bin Laden after 9/11 to avoid war. A peaceful solution.
Taliban refuse to turn over terrorist Bin Laden. President Bush calls for invading the terrorist-accommodating nation of Afghanistan, removes the oppressive Taliban and hunts for Bin Laden in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
3) Terrorists attack The WTC, two American embassies and one US Navy warship.
Action: President Clinton does nothing.
Action: President Bush announces to the world, any nation that aids or abets terrorists will have deadly consequences.
6 - Michael J. West
Chicago, defending the president is obviously important to you. So important that you'll defend him on a completely different issue than the one we're discussing here.
7 - Blue Meanie
as for Chicago:
1) Apples to oranges, you make an idiots argument using flawed logic. Fun but pointless
2) And where is bin Laden? The most dangerous man in the woprld, and public enemy number one, according to Bush. Yet all the men and money that was and shoudl be in Afghanistan finding him is being spent in Iraq, and why is that? Because of the lies spread by this Administration perhaps?
3) Here Chicago contradicts himself and obviously has no clue as to what he is talking about. If you check you will find that those missles Clinton launched were in response to?
OK, so we have determined that Clinton was far from perfect, who cares? Chicago does, but that is always the last refuge of the large mouthed, small minded dittohead. When all else fails, shout "Clinton" a lot to rally the rest of the flock.
8 - Michael J. West
Blue Meanie, your last sentence contains everything I meant to say in comment 6.
9 - Jet in Columbus
I can't find a damned thing to argue with in this whole article. What fun is that???
10 - NR Davis
No arguing? Sounds like heaven!
11 - DazeyMai
When we have a Republican administration, isn't it tradition when things go wrong to blame it on the Democrat who just left office? Whine..whine..whine "It's not our fault, the Democrats left us with this mess"...I believe I recall that Bush and his cronies were left with a good, healthy surplus in the budget. Well, it didn't take the "emperor" long to get rid of that "mess", did it? And, I wonder if we will ever be rid of the horrible messes he, Cheney and the gang have created. Isn't it ironic that the one intelligent, decent Member of his Cabinet left at the end of W's first term. If only Colin Powell had been the candidate in 2000, we would not be in this endless war and head over heels in debt to China.
12 - Jet in Columbus
Oh I don't know, there's lots to argue about, just not here. That you'd say that is an arguable point, but I wouldn't, though some would, that consists of an entirely different argument all together. As to whether you could classify it as heaven or something more down to earth, is really something that could be argued in a different forum.
Depending on your point of view...
what were we talking about?
Love
Jet
13 - Dave Nalle
"paranoia will destroy ya"
- The Kinks
I think it says it all about this article.
Dave
14 - Jet in Columbus
At the moment, I'd say 66 out of every 100 Americans would disagree with you Dave!
15 - Matthew T. Sussman
Ah, the majority argument. Isn't that like saying "Bush won, get over it?"
16 - Jet in Columbus
Oh, I see, so it's okay for the right to say it, but not the left? Can you say hypocrite boys and girls?
17 - Dave Nalle
Jet, as a sovereign citizen, I have always been and remain a majority of one.
Dave
18 - Matthew T. Sussman
Where did I insinuate "Bush won get over it" was a valid argument? It isn't. Majority != validity. Can you say spaz?
19 - Jet in Columbus
Prick us, do we not bleed?
that's from that sheakspere, us Shakepear, uh the bard guy.
20 - Mahat Macoat
Natalie sounds more like Lt. Cmdr. Philip Francis Queeg in the Cane Mutiny...
Ahh, but the strawberries that's... that's where I had them. They laughed at me and made jokes but I proved beyond the shadow of a doubt and with... geometric logic... that a duplicate key to the wardroom icebox DID exist, and I'd have produced that key if they hadn't of pulled the Caine out of action. I, I, I know now they were only trying to protect some fellow officers...
21 - NR Davis
Ms./Mr. Macoat: Some believe that Queeg was insane, paranoid or both, but that doesn't mean that he was. And the comparison doesn't hold: Unlike the Caine Mutiny character, I am neither cruel nor stupid. While determined to speak up when necessary, I loathe confrontation. And Queeg thinks nothing through - that most assuredly cannot be said about me.
NR Davis
22 - Jet in Columbus
Any feeble attempt to distract from the subject eh NR? I think you're great, I wish I had you're writing style.
23 - Silas Kain
Republicans. Democrats. Doesn't matter. The GOP has the cash and the Dems are full of cowards except Howard. We need bold initiatives. We need people with vision inspiring us. Oops. We'll never get that, it doesn't sell commercials on television. Smash a couple of planes into a skyscaper and the bucks roll in. I know it sounds cold, but one has to wonder just how intense the collective orgasm was in the hallowed halls of network and/or cable television management.
24 - MCH
Actually Captain Queeg, AKA "Old Yellowstain", reminds me more of ol' GW...as in, Where were you, in '72?...(he wasn't at Dannelly AFB)...
25 - NR Davis
Mr. Jet: You gotta be YOU. I want to read *your* style.
---
"Republicans. Democrats. Doesn't matter."
A-fucking-men to that.
"The GOP has the cash and the Dems are full of cowards except..."
Chuck Pennacchio, Russ Feingold and - perhaps - Dennis Kucinich.