The Imperial Presidency: The '08 Candidates Weigh In

Looking back over the last year, it's one of the most important issues America faced. Looking ahead, it could turn out to be the "sleeper issue" of the 2008 presidential race.

I'm talking about executive power, the way it is used -- and has been abused over the last 7 years.

In a very revealing piece in the Boston Globe, Charlie Savage lays out the results of a questionnaire the Globe sent to the presidential candidates on the limits of executive power, asking their views on the Bush administration's expansive view of presidential authority.

It's hard to overstate how vital this issue is, or how far off the media radar screen it remains. Indeed, it's hard to think of another issue in which the importance-to-the-public /attention-paid-by-the-media ratio is as out of whack.

As Savage -- who won a Pulitzer for his coverage of Bush's use of signing statements, and is the author of Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy -- puts it:

"Bush has bypassed laws and treaties that he said infringed on his wartime powers, expanded his right to keep information secret from Congress and the courts, centralized greater control over the government in the White House, imprisoned US citizens without charges, and used signing statements to challenge more laws than all predecessors combined."

True, a lot of the harm Bush has done can be rolled-back or repaired. But the way he wielded executive power greatly increased the ability of the executive branch to do damage. And the problem is, even well intentioned executives don't like to give up power.

It's easy to imagine the next president saying: Sure, Bush used his increased prerogatives to do damage but, trust me, I'll use them to do good.

The Constitution is a monument to skepticism about such trust. Sure, Mr. President, maybe you are a good person, and maybe you do have our best interests at heart, but don't take it personally if we double-check you with a few laws.

That is not, to put it mildly, a reading of the constitution popular in the current White House.

Which is why the next president's approach to executive power is so crucial. "Legal specialists," writes Savage, "say decisions by the next president -- either to keep using the expanded powers Bush and Cheney developed, or to abandon their legal and political precedents - will help determine whether a stronger presidency becomes permanent."

So what will be the view of the next occupant of the Oval Office? The Globe questionnaire was answered by all the major Democratic candidates, but only three Republicans: Romney, McCain, and Paul. Giuliani sent in a general statement, offering no details -- but given his Imperial Mayorship, it's not hard to imagine him bringing the same approach to Pennsylvania Avenue. Mike Hucakbee and Fred Thompson failed to respond -- perhaps the former is waiting for a call back from God, while the latter was probably just too busy being not very busy.

For those who did respond, the results were fairly encouraging (although it's easier to not abuse power you don't yet have). McCain, Paul, Dodd, Biden, and Richardson all roundly decried the use of signing statements, while Clinton, Obama, and Edwards condemned Bush's use of them, without ruling out that they themselves would use them.

These eight also expressed reservations about the broad claims of presidential power made by the Bush administration.

And then there was Mitt "We Oughta Double Guantanamo" Romney, who seemed intent on proving that when it comes to executive power, he'd sit at the feet of those great Constitutionalists Richard Cheney, David Addington, Alberto Gonzales, Harriet Miers, and John Yoo.

His philosophy on executive power can be summed up in his assertion that "our most basic civil liberty is the right to be kept alive" -- which has been the excuse for undermining civil liberties through the centuries. Turns out Mitt's not so hot on that whole "Give me liberty or give me death" thing. Which is odd, considering that his dad marched with Patrick Henry in Richmond.