Monday, February 06, 2006 What Exactly Did Bush Swear to Do as Prez? I'm surprised the Bible didn't burst into flames when his lying ass touched it. Sarah Vowell's NYTimes's Select op/ed "Down w/Torture! Gimme Torture!"(courtesy of The Era Blog) is dead-on correct about a major issue: "Whenever I hear the president mention, oh, every 12 mins, that his greatest responsibility is "to protect the American people," the insufferable civics robot inside my head mutters: "Actually, sir, your oath, the one w/ the Bible and the chief justice and the Jumbotron, is to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Bush didn't swear an oath to defend us, defend America, or defend us- the American people & America- from terrorists. Bush, like every other prez has sworn this: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of Pres of the US, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the US." Where does that oath allow for wiggle room on undermining the very laws laid out in the Constitution? It doesn't. It is the role of the military and other law enforcement authorities to defend & protect us and our nation. Not to mention the fact that our Founding Fathers & Consitution writers were crystal clear in making sure that the Exec Branch would have LIMITED powers and that those powers could not override the power of the Legislative Branch. Bush has broken the law... and GOP Sen Specter knows it. That's why Specter says that the NSA warrantless spying/ wiretapping is "a flat violation of the FISA." That is why on Neil Cavuto's Fox show that Dem Gregg Hymowitz and GOPer Jim Rogers both shot down Cavuto's weak attempts to defend Bush's illegal spying: Cavuto: "Do you think the fact that we haven't been hit since 9/11 owes in part to the fact that he's been doing this?" Hymowitz: "Absolutely not. It's not about wiretapping. It's about the process of law. He could have wiretapped anyone he wants, as long as you go get the warrant." Rogers: "He certainly has broken the law. This is America. We're not supposed to be doing things like that." Cavuto threw down another GOP card: "Bush is only wiretapping calls coming in from outside the US." Rogers: "Fine. Go get a warrant." Cavuto reached into his hand for another card- the need for expediency. "When a call is being made, you don't have time to run out and get a warrant." Hymowitz: "Neil, you can get the warrant retroactively. The law accounted for that." Now, when does Bush's impeachment begin? |