T Minus 58 - Boy Blunder Explains

"The legislature's job is to write law. It's the executive branch's job to interpret law." --George orWell Bush, Austin, Texas, November 22nd, 2000

And that's exactly how the misAdministration of Boy Blunder And The Plunderers ruled over these last eight years. And yes, I mean "ruled" - clearly, there was no attempt to govern with consent. But, that's a tangent. Getting back to "It's the executive branch's job to interpret law," this statement is part and parcel of their "unitary executive" philosophy. This philosophy interprets the Constitution's separation of powers to argue the power of Congress to check and balance the President's control of the executive branch is limited. I'd make a comment about the inherent hypocrisy of claiming to want "judges on the bench that don't intrepret the Constitution" when their view of Executive Power does exactly that, but: that, too, would be a tangent. Dick (cheney)in' Cheney is a strong adherent of this philosophy, which is why Biden called Cheney “the most dangerous vice president we've had probably in American history.” The Unitary Executive philosophy, in it's barest essence, is explained by Nixon, in his interview with David Frost:

FROST: So what in a sense, you're saying is that there are certain situations, and the Huston Plan or that part of it was one of them, where the president can decide that it's in the best interests of the nation or something, and do something illegal.

NIXON: Well, when the president does it that means that it is not illegal.

FROST: By definition.

NIXON: Exactly. Exactly. If the president, for example, approves something because of the national security, or in this case because of a threat to internal peace and order of significant magnitude, then the president's decision in that instance is one that enables those who carry it out, to carry it out without violating a law. Otherwise they're in an impossible position. (LandmarkCases.org)

So, how did Boy Blunder routinely "interpret" legislation, written by Congress? "Signing Statements" - and here's the list. Wondering what "Signing Statments" are? Here's The FAQs about 'em, and here's a story from Charley Savage of
The Boston Globe. Charley won a Pulitzer Prize for that story. Let's take a look, at the opening:

Bush challenges hundreds of laws
President cites powers of his office

By Charlie Savage, Globe Staff | April 30, 2006

WASHINGTON -- President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution.

Among the laws Bush said he can ignore are military rules and regulations, affirmative-action provisions, requirements that Congress be told about immigration services problems, ''whistle-blower" protections for nuclear regulatory officials, and safeguards against political interference in federally funded research.

Legal scholars say the scope and aggression of Bush's assertions that he can bypass laws represent a concerted effort to expand his power at the expense of Congress, upsetting the balance between the branches of government. The Constitution is clear in assigning to Congress the power to write the laws and to the president a duty ''to take care that the laws be faithfully executed." Bush, however, has repeatedly declared that he does not need to ''execute" a law he believes is unconstitutional.

Former administration officials contend that just because Bush reserves the right to disobey a law does not mean he is not enforcing it: In many cases, he is simply asserting his belief that a certain requirement encroaches on presidential power. (Rest of story, atThe Boston Globe.)

So, what might be one difference between Richard Nixon and George W. Bush? One difference I see, is Congressional Republicans in Nixon's Era had the guts to stand up to Nixon. Until George W. Bush came along, I never thought I'd see the day I'd miss Richard Nixon. Fortunately, George W. Bush's days are numbered, and January 20th 2009 will mark The End Of An Error.