I've written about Charlie Savage before. He's the national legal affairs correspondent for the Boston Globe. He is tireless in documenting the Bush Administration's signing statements and the other legal shenanigans they indulge in, in their pursuit of the idea of the "unitary executive."
Savage was interviewed by Terry Gross on today's Fresh Air. (Audio link available on this page.) If you want an understanding of the machinations behind the scene in the White House, including before 9/11, I highly recommend you listen to it.
One bit of discomfort for all true-blue Americans: Savage does add a bit of ammunition to the meme that John Ashcroft was actually, occasionally, trying to the right thing. Just keep this in mind: if John Ashcroft was the good guy in this Administration, what, exactly does that say about the rest of this bunch?
Coincidentally (*wink*), Savage has a new book out, released today. It's called Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy. I'm proud to call attention to it.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: the Democrats missed many chances to argue against the quest for imperial power. All they had to do was to ask the Limbaugh crowd, "How are you going to feel when President Hillary has these powers?"
Here's hoping the Dems run the table in 2008, and make as a first order of business undoing the sinister legal framework that has been installed without many people noticing.
Hey, I can dream, can't I?
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