All the President’s Privileges

[ms_maree]

WHEN George W. Bush was president of the United States, it was an article of faith among liberals that many of his policies were not just misguided but unconstitutional as well. On issues large and small, from the conduct of foreign policy to the firing of United States attorneys, the Bush White House pushed an expansive view of executive authority

Comments

[ms_maree]

Yeah, and doing almost everything that he criticised Bush for doing.

[ms_maree]

As well as his promises to be more transparent. But I guess that gets tied up with executive privilege as well.

[tiddlywinks103]

This is the main reason my mother kinda hates him. Also because she wanted Hilary.

[ms_maree]

Does she think that Hilary would have done any differently?

[tiddlywinks103]

Yep, political experience is a big thing with her, and I agree at this point, though I'm not as angry/enraged as she is about it. Also the factoring in of a woman in the White House not being called "First Lady".

[ms_maree]

Interesting, I wonder if that's why we get to hear about tensions between Clinton and Obama.

[fornikate]

yes bc it's that easy for obama to repeal all of gwb's fuckups, what with a repub house

[ms_maree]

Since Obama has been president the Drone attacks has increased 30 fold. Could you explain to me how the Repulicans managed to push Obama into that?

[fornikate]

the drone attacks *have

*Republicans

as i'm not privy to top secret war details, i'm not qualified to evaluate that one. and neither are you.

[ms_maree]

Well, using your logic you aren't qualified to evaluate or judge Bush's actions. Because most of his actions are still 'secret war details'.

[awfulbliss]

It is pretty obvious to anyone whose head isn't completely in the sand that Obama is your standard-issue partisan hack politician at this point on a number of issues. Some simply can't bring themselves to admit it after eight years calling Bush an evil, murderous war criminal who ripped the Constitution to pieces on a daily basis now that Obama has continued the same policies and even gone as far to offer strong defenses of them when challenged.

[fornikate]

i don't disagree, but it seems many people seem to have this idea that the president can do whatever he wants re: current laws. however, that is not the case.

[hinoema]

... almost the entire Bush-era wartime architecture has endured.

Just a thought, but does anyone think an apparatus that size begins and ends, or is even significantly controlled by, a President?

[hinoema]

I'm not referring to immediate direction, though; I'm looking more at the power behind the huge structure that is the military industrial complex. Saying a president completely directs or controls that seems like saying they can control a train- sure, the engineer may go where they say to, but the tracks were laid down long before that.

(I don't think Bush Jr had that much significant control either, tbh. Cheney, maybe.)