Posted by Damozel | Did you know that George W. Bush is still president? While you were busy throwing stones across the barricades at your fellow Dems, he and Cheney were busy beating the war drums. If you can't hear them over the screaming, stop for a minute. Listen.
Let's begin with a quote of a quote of a quote. Right: at Balkinization, Sandy Levinson quotes this excerpt from a Dan Froomkin round-up.
"On his radio show this morning, Bill Bennett told the Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol -- who had a personal meeting with President Bush yesterday -- that a 'conclusion' he drew was that the hearing was 'less an argument for getting out of Iraq than going into Iran.' After suggesting that Iran may 'have to pay some price at some point on their own soil,' Kristol said that President Bush authorizing an attack of some kind before he leaves office is not 'out of the question.'
Bennett: "Do you think there's any chance that, and we won't ask you to reveal anything confidential, do you think there's any chance that we might take some action against some aspect of the Ira -- against Iran, let's put it that way, before the resident leaves office?"
Kristol: "We didn't really talk about that, in all honesty, directly. I don't think it's out of the question. I think people are overdoing how much of a lame duck the president is." [emphasis added] (Froomkin, WaPo, quoting Think Progress)
I think so too. It's not as if his approval ratings can drop that much further. And it's not as if Congress has taken any measures to stop him. Through the power of inertia and the weakness of Congress (both parties), he's been ceded apparently limitless authority. Nobody tries to rein him in. After all, he just confessed to having approved actions that may qualify as war crimes. Public reaction? "........................" It's as if we really DON'T believe anyone can control him. It's as if we really think that all we can do is wait it out.
Let's read it again:
Bennett: "Do you think there's any chance that...that we might take some action against some aspect of the Ira -- against Iran, let's put it that way, before the president leaves office?"
Kristol: "....I don't think it's out of the question. I think people are overdoing how much of a lame duck the president is." [emphasis added] (Froomkin, WaPo, quoting Think Progress)
Levinson:
Let me translate the last sentence: "People must come to terms with the fact that we have an elective dictatorship in the United States, at least in some respects, and that President Bush, even if he currently has the support of only 28% of the American public, can do whatever he fucking wants to do, becasue he's the great decider and there is absolutely nothing the American people can do about it as a practical matter. For starters, he can veto any legislation barring the use of currently available federal funds to engage in "action" against Iran, and even if the Democrats had the backbone to attempt impeachment, it is unthinkable that enough Republican senators would desert him to make it truly possible--though, of course, some might vote to convict just in order to get President Cheney!"
If you really aren't really nervous yet, you might want to read this: Cheney on the Warpath (Froomkin).
What can we do about it? Levinson clearly thinks we can't do much at all. One of the Balkinization commenters, Refractor, points out that Bush and Cheney pretty much agree with this.
George Bush's own words validate Sandy Levinson's bold but accurate view of the administration's approach to the executive functions of our federal government. Shortly after his re-election Bush explained his authority to pursue the conflict in Iraq exactly as he pleased: "We had an accountability moment, and that's called the 2004 elections, ..." Washington Post, January 16, 2005.
This was echoed in Dana Perino's White House press briefing of March 22, 2008, when she rebuffed the idea that the president or vice president pay attention to the American public:
"Q Well, what it amounts to is you saying we have no input at all.
MS. PERINO: You had input. The American people have input every four years, and that's the way our system is set up."
Bush and Cheney are applying to national governance a CEO's approach to corporate governance. But instead of being accountable to a board of directors meeting monthly, they are at risk only of being fired every four years by an Electoral College (or Supreme Court) vote for a competitor. Once elected, they are free to do whatever they decide, as well as ignoring or subverting any law -- including the Consitution -- that seems to stand in the way. (Balkinization)
OTHER BN-POLITICS POSTINGS
Bush Confirms Torture Policy (Part 2) to the Sound of Crickets Chirping
The Chinese and the West: Talking at Cross-Purposes?
Another Whistle Blower Says Telecom has Domestic-Spying System
Bush's Newest Domestic Spying Program
Sources Tell ABC News: Bush Administration Officials Participated in War Crimes
The Administration's Secret Plans for A Lasting US Presence in Iraq
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