Cheney's Parting Gift

"They frightened us so badly that we voluntarily surrendered the precious rights that a million American soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen and others bought for us with their lives during two centuries of freedom and democracy.

"They used fear to violate international law, to torture and imprison thousands of suspected enemies without charges or trials. They used fear and invoked national security to suspend the right of habeas corpus, the foundation of our freedoms.

"For these and far too many other sins and transgressions to list in so short a space as this, we the people have every right, and perhaps a duty, to cast them aside, and with them their only hope of avoiding justice and judgment -- John McCain, who voted with them 90 percent of the time."

Deborah Solomon interviews economist James Galbraith for the New York Times Magazine.

Galbraith: "Reagan's economists worshiped the market, but Bush didn't worship the market. Bush simply turned over regulatory authority to his friends. It enabled all the shady operators and card sharks in the system to come to dominate how we finance."

Solomon: "So you claim in your recent book, 'The Predator State,' but will President Bush actually be leaving Washington a richer man?"

Galbraith: "Presidents don't make money in office; they do so afterward. In his case, I hope he won't. Maybe his friends will abandon him."

Nicholas D. Kristof writes in his New York Times opinion column: "Mr. Bush's presidency imploded not because of any personal corruption or venality, but largely because he wrenched the United States out of the international community. His cowboy diplomacy 'defriended' the United States. He turned a superpower into a rogue country. Instead of isolating North Korea and Iran, he isolated us -- and undermined his own ability to achieve his aims.

"So here's the top priority for President Barack Obama or President John McCain: We must rejoin the world. . . .

"The new president should also start a Truth Commission to investigate torture and other abuses during the 'war on terror.' This should not be a bipartisan panel but a nonpartisan one, dominated by retired generals and intelligence figures like Brent Scowcroft or Colin Powell."

Marc and Craig Kielburger write in an opinion piece for the Toronto Star: "The current economic meltdown, a fumbled response to Hurricane Katrina and a banner reading 'Mission Accomplished' are but a few of the things that will make up Bush's legacy. But it can be argued that through his ineptitude, Bush has shaken the electorate out of their apathetic daze, and in doing so, strengthened democracy in the United States.

"How's that for irony?"

What They'll Miss

The New York Times op-ed page asked six writers to reflect on what they have most admired about Bush.

Semi-official Bush biographer Robert Draper calls him loveable and loyal: "When the vault of the 43rd presidency is sealed, it will include, among many things, evidence of President Bush's virtue."

Former press secretary Ari Fleischer writes: "I'll miss President Bush's moral clarity. The president's critics hated his willingness to label things right or wrong, and the press used to bang me around for it, but history will show how right he was."

Bushisms chronicler Jacob Weisberg writes: "In the face of defeat, Mr. Bush remains unbowed by grammar. You've got to admire that, kind of."

Turncoat former press secretary Scott McClellan writes: "While he did not always choose wisely in his efforts to advance human dignity, his motives were genuine. And in those somber moments when he visited wounded troops or families of those who'd made the ultimate sacrifice, I saw -- ever so briefly -- a glimmer of self-doubt."

Hand 'em Over

Joan Lowy writes for the Associated Press: "A judge has ordered the Justice Department to produce White House memos that provide the legal basis for the Bush administration's post-Sept. 11 warrantless wiretapping program.

"U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy Jr. signed an order Friday requiring the department to produce the memos by the White House legal counsel's office by Nov. 17. He said he will review the memos in private to determine if any information can be released publicly without violating attorney-client privilege or jeopardizing national security.

"Kennedy issued his order in response to lawsuits by civil liberties groups in 2005 after news reports disclosed the wiretapping.

"The department had argued that the memos were protected attorney-client communications and contain classified information. . . .

"'We think just as a common sense matter the legal theories for the president's wiretap programs cannot be classified and should be available to the public,' said Marc Rotenberg, president of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, one of the groups seeking the memos.

"'It's an important decision because up to this point the judge has relied on the government's assertion that it has done everything properly under the law and that it has disclosed everything it needs to disclose,' Rotenberg said Saturday."

Hand Her Over

Jesse J. Holland writes for the Associated Press: "A group suing Dick Cheney to preserve a wide range of records from his time as vice president can depose one of his top aides, federal courts ruled Friday.

"U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ordered Claire O'Donnell, the vice president's deputy chief of staff, to make herself available to lawyers from a private group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, known as CREW.

"CREW is suing Cheney and the Executive Office of the President in an effort to ensure that no presidential records are destroyed or handled in a way that makes them unavailable to the public.

"The group had wanted to depose Cheney's chief of staff, David Addington, but a three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said deposing Addington 'would constitute an 'unwarranted impairment' of the functioning of' the vice president's office."

Environment Watch

Deborah Zabarenko writes for Reuters: "As the U.S. presidential candidates sprint toward the finish line, the Bush administration is also sprinting to enact environmental policy changes before leaving power.

"Whether it's getting wolves off the Endangered Species List, allowing power plants to operate near national parks, loosening regulations for factory farm waste or making it easier for mountaintop coal-mining operations, these proposed changes have found little favor with environmental groups. . . .

"Even some free-market organizations have joined conservation groups to urge a moratorium on last-minute rules proposed by the Interior Department and the Environmental Protection Agency, among others."

Bryan Walsh writes for Time: "There is no shortage of people eager to see President George W. Bush hit the road -- his approval rating hovers at 25% -- but few will celebrate the end of the Bush era more than environmentalists.

"From the green perspective, the Bush Administration has been an unmitigated disaster, with sins of omission (the failure to do anything significant on climate change) and commission (stealthy attempts to weaken environmental protections such as the Endangered Species Act). . . .

"It doesn't help that President Bush seems bent on dismantling as many of the nation's environmental regulations as possible before his time runs out."

Sewer Politics

San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross remind us of that city's all-important referendum tomorrow: "Proposition R, the proposed renaming of a sewage-treatment plant after George W. Bush. . . .

"'The potential irony here is that this is a modern facility that protects the ocean and the environment every day,' [Public Utilities Commission spokesman Tony] Winnicker said, 'and I'm not sure that's the right legacy for President Bush.'

"No, but there would be no mistaking the smell."

Cartoon Watch

Tom Toles on Bush the uniter, Garry Trudeau on the majesty of the office, Ben Sargent on the end of the ride, and Marshall Ramsey on Bush's lack of concern.