As it enters its seventh year, the imperial presidency of George W. Bush has perfected the practice of going around the Constitution when that pesky document gets in its way.
It burnishes its powers through signing statements, secret executive orders and by simply ignoring court rulings.
It pisses on the Geneva Convention despite the concerns of the military’s top lawyers.
It fires U.S. attorneys because they’re investigating Republicans.
It bullies people who hew to the rule of law, most recently lawyers from top law firms who represent Guantánamo Bay detainees.
People from across the political spectrum — liberals, middle of the roaders and conservatives — should be frightened by these unilateral assaults on the beliefs of the Founding Fathers.
I am not talking about the president’s casus belli of the moment, his decision to escalate the Iraq war — or to participate in the civil war as opposed to trying to stop it, as Christopher Hitchens trenchantly puts it.
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