Why would future presidents ask [for authorization to go to war, or war powers], if the present administration successfully asserts its current doctrine? It is that whenever the nation is at war, the other two branches of government have a radically diminished pertinence to governance, and the president determines what that pertinence shall be. This monarchical doctrine emerges from the administration's stance that warrantless surveillance by the National Security Agency targeting American citizens on American soil is a legal exercise of the president's inherent powers as commander in chief, even though it violates the clear language of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which was written to regulate wartime surveillance.
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Comments: 5
Clare, there is some doubt about his winning the last election .
Also, if you do not read Hapers, get a copy of the latest issue (March) - Lewis Lapham's essay on impeachment is worth the cost: "We have in the White House a thief who steals the country's good name and reputation for his private interest and personal use".
Impeachment, I like the sound of that word, it rhythms with Bush, Cheney, and their associates!