President Bush doesn't care much about the rules -- at least, he believes that they don't apply to him. Senator Robert Casey (D-PA) caught him trying to sneak a signing statement past the American people...again. Here's what Casey had to say. In short, the president has excused himself from obeying law set forth in the recent Department of Defense authorization bill (i.e., the defense budget). According to the president, he can ignore the following requirements of the bill:
- Establishment a commission on wartime contractors and profiteering;
- A ban on the funding of permanent bases in Iraq
Think of it: The administration is claiming for itself the right to enter the United States into a long-term agreement with the Iraqi government -- one that would establish a more or less permanent presence in Iraq -- without consulting the Senate. In essence, they can enter into a treaty agreement on their own, something explicitly prohibited by law. Thus, the administration claims that a treaty is only a treaty when they say it is, and that the elected representatives of the people have no voice in the matter. It's a never-ending source of amazement to me that President Bush can speak with a straight face (o.k., maybe he does smirk when he says it) about democracy in Iraq when he clearly doesn't give a damn about it at home.
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