The Important Stuff

She writes: "During the presidency of George W. Bush, the White House has made an unprecedented reach for power. It has systematically attempted to defy, control, or threaten the institutions that could challenge it: Congress, the courts, and the press. It has attempted to upset the balance of power among the three branches of government provided for in the Constitution; but its most aggressive and consistent assaults have been against the legislative branch: Bush has time and again said that he feels free to carry out a law as he sees fit, not as Congress wrote it. Through secrecy and contemptuous treatment of Congress, the Bush White House has made the executive branch less accountable than at any time in modern American history. And because of the complaisance of Congress, it has largely succeeded in its efforts."

Among other things, Drew touches on the "heretofore obscure doctrine called the unitary executive," which is one of the White House's key justifications for its power grab: "The concept of a unitary executive holds that the executive branch can overrule the courts and Congress on the basis of the president's own interpretations of the Constitution, in effect overturning Marbury v. Madison (1803), which established the principle of judicial review, and the constitutional concept of checks and balances."

She concludes: "For the first time in more than thirty years, and to a greater extent than even then, our constitutional form of government is in jeopardy."

But hey, let's write about something else, shall we?

Gay Marriage Watch

White House press secretary Tony Snow sat down for a half-hour yesterday with James C. Dobson, the chairman and founder of the prominent Christian broadcasting organization, Focus on the Family.

The audio is available on Dobson's Web site. I've transcribed a few parts.

Snow talked a bit about his new job: "We make trouble for ourselves when we don't get facts out. And the president's got a great story to tell on a whole series of issues. . . . We serve our interests better by getting more information out and that's one of the things I'm going to be doing as press secretary."

The central issue for Dobson, of course, was Bush's position on gay marriage.

Dobson: "There are people who hate him for a lot of reasons, but this is one of them, isn't it? . . . The fact that he has had the courage to stand up for traditional marriage is both an object of great appreciation and a lot of angst."

Snow suggested that Bush's position on marriage was the ineluctable product of the president's faith -- something that Bush apparently talks about even more in private than in public. Keep in mind that Snow has only been at the White House less than a month.

Snow: "Faith teaches you that you're not the master of your own destiny. . . . The president is absolutely nonchalant when he talks about his faith. I've seen him do it behind closed doors, I've seen him do it with world leaders, I've seen him do it with a lot of people. And it's not like faith is something where he clears his throat and acts righteous. No, 'I have faith in Jesus Christ, he's my lord and savior.' Boom! It's that simple."

Dobson: "He's hated for that, too, by the way."