The Bush Paradigm

Despite all of the problems, travails and low approval ratings associated with the forty third presidency, one must say that this administration did an artful job of strengthening the weight of the executive office and vice presidency, whatever office that actually turns out to belong to. Their ability to subvert and deflect oversight, and delay any meaningful investigation into their actions, is destined for "legend" status in the annals of history. They have made a mockery of the notion of "open government".

Let's face it, they did whatever they wanted to do, and brooked no serious opposition from a pet Justice Department, a cowed Congress and a stacked Supreme Court. A court, which by the way, was probably largely responsible for his ever being elected, which chose not to look at some very shady voter disenfranchisement issues in Florida.

They deftly managed to slink their way through a minefield of questionable practices. The behavior started in Cheney backroom sessions with industry types to create lopsided energy policy. We still do not know who was in these meetings and FOIA requests for secret service visitor logs have been thwarted. Email and blackberry communication, which by law was to have been saved, was either conducted on RNC servers or mysteriously disappeared, sometimes years at a time. Promises to internally investigate turned out to be mere subterfuge.

His Justice Department and the new Attorney General, Mukasey, promised to investigate torture, the U.S. Attorneys Scandal, illegal wiretapping and the politicization of the Justice Department, and turns out, surprise, to give everyone a free pass. Long term apologists for Bush like William Kristol, are now clamoring for a blanket pardon for everyone associated with the torture issue. He and Mukasey are making the argument that whatever was done re: interrogations, torture, and illegal wiretaps was done in good faith and with the best intentions of america in mind.

This is a great prescription for a dictatorship, start a war, protract it for an indeterminate period. You then suspend civil liberties like the right to privacy and the right not to be listened to or have your email and personal communications monitored without a search warrant. Torture at will. Imprison people for as long as you want and don't give them a trial or hearing. Listen in on the communications they are having with their counsel. Accept no limitations on your fiats.  Fund all of your war spending through emergency requests so it doesn't show up on the books.  Let your intelligence service burn all tapes and evidence of their interrogations. Don't hold them accountable or take them to task.

Do you think that John Yoo and David Addington and all the other advocates for an imperial presidency will be as charitable with Obama and successive presidents from the "other team"? Last week, Mukasey was asked if he felt that it was legal to continue to hold enemy combatants who had been cleared by the courts and he replied "yes".  He refused to answer if this squared with his notion of justice. Even this ideological Supreme Court has held that these people have a right to a fair hearing and to see the evidence amassed against them.

I think that the Bush strategy is working brilliantly. They have dodged, squirmed and rope a doped into the eleventh hour and now are waiting for a tired public to grant them a free pass.  I hope that they are called to account and defend their actions so that our constitution will once again stand for something beyond their narrow and parochial self interest.

buggering bureaucrats sodomizing the american public in a high jinx romp xxx