The naked assertion of absolute power

In today's radio address, Bush justified authorizing illegal surveillance of American citizens--and vowed to continue doing so--in the name of his oath to defend the Constitution. One is reminded of the Nixon-era logic of "bombing a village to save it."

As our nation skids farther along the path from republic to empire, I'm adding this item to the p3 Readings list:

Glenn Greenwald serves up a thorough historical thrashing of the Bush Administration's claim to the unlimited power to violate the law if it can be done in some putative connection with national security, as Bush insisted today.

It cannot be said that the Founders were unaware of the potential for national emergencies and external threats. They engaged in a war with the British which was at least as much of an existential threat to the Republic as those posed by 9/11 and related threats of Islamic extremism. Notwithstanding those threats, the Founders, in creating an Executive branch, sought first and foremost to ensure that the President could never wield unchecked powers which would exist above and separate from Congressionally enacted laws.

Since we're unlikely to hear much more with any historical depth about Bush's latest dreams of empire unless it actually comes to impeachment hearings sometime after 2006, go read this now.