Misc Blips

Busy day at work today, but you should really read what the blogosphere is saying about this story, which documents a report in which the Pentagon says that the President is above the law:

To protect subordinates should they be charged with torture, the memo advised that Mr. Bush issue a "presidential directive or other writing" that could serve as evidence, since authority to set aside the laws is "inherent in the president."

Brrrrrrrr

Josh Marshall says:

So the right to set aside law is "inherent in the president". That claim alone should stop everyone in their tracks and prompt a serious consideration of the safety of the American republic under this president. It is the very definition of a constitutional monarchy, let alone a constitutional republic, that the law is superior to the executive, not the other way around. This is the essence of what the rule of law means -- a government of laws, not men, and all that.

Atrios and Billmon are also all over this.

Man, when you think that so very few years ago, the Right was all about the ability of one tramp to bring the government screeching to a halt while she brought her bogus little harrassment charges... now, if you please, the office of the President is omnipotent. I presume that only applies during Republican adminstrations though.

Hypocrites...

Today's Post has an amusing article, seems to imply that Bush basking as the heir to the Reagan Mantle may not be unadulterated good news for the team:

But it's not entirely clear if Bush will emerge from a solid week of tributes and reminiscences resplendent as a self-styled heir to the Reagan legacy, or if he will suffer in comparison from a stature gap.

Gee... Ya think?