POTUS

You are not going to like this entry if you:

- Believe in privacy.

- Hate the idea of Big Brother.

- Believe that spying is something reserved for external enemies.

- Hate or even dislike the Bush administration.

The current controversy about the President authorizing the National Security Agency to spy on possible domestic enemies of the country will probably fade away from the news soon. That's what usually happens when reporters find out that (a) people get bored with repetitive drum beating of a non-issue and (b) when folks find out that the President did nothing illegal.

Yeah, kinda snuck that last one in but it's true. Not only did President Bush not do anything illegal, he fully exercised the power of the Executive Office of the United States within the framework intended by the writers of the Constitution.

The power and limits of Executive Branch are found in Article Two of the Constitution, which is not the most well-defined article because the Founding Fathers knew that times change and the powers of the Executive would have to be flexible to meet those needs (they also wanted the Legislative Branch (the voice of the people) to be the more powerful arm of the government, but I digress). As time passed, the President began to use tools that are not defined in the Constitution to support and defend the United States, notably the use of Executive Orders. If you read that Wikpedia entry, you might be surprised how much authority the President actually has.

So if you asked a bunch of people what's the most important duty of the President, most would probably say, in one form or another, he/she must protect the country (it's in the oath of office). Every president has used the tools of their office towards that goal, either in the form of Congressional legislation or executive orders, and there's plenty of legal precedent (case law) to support such actions. Probably the most famous example happened during the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln used the power of the Presidency to suspend habeas corpus (due process) to indefinitely jail the critics of his administration and the Supreme Court of the time backed him up.

Whether we like him/her or not, the President of the United States is our chief protector against enemies, both foreign and domestic. He/she merely has to say in writing that there is a clear and present danger from these enemies, and there is no court in the country that will contradict him because his subsequent actions would not be illegal. They may be immoral and distasteful, but that's why we hired him: to clean out the garbage and to protect our way of life. And nobody is going to argue that our country is under attack from people smart enough, rich enough, and dedicated enough to die at the controls of passenger jets.

What will probably happen from all this noise about the NSA? Congress will hold some hearings for show and may even pass some legislation that the President will have to sign or veto (probably the latter; presidents hate giving up executive power). But no matter what happens, future Chief Executives will continue to use executive orders, both public and classified, to defend the country and they will take the heat for it. Is it any wonder why they seem to age overnight in front of us?