Sunday, March 27, 2011

Today's Must Read

This is terrifying:

The recent adventure into Libya, or shall I say ‘above Libya,’ is the first time in living memory we’ve seen the will of one man, even an American president, order and carry out an American military mission without even bothering to ask the American congress if it minds his messing about in a foreign country. In essence, one man in one day set in motion the power of the American military without any of the barest of rituals that normally come before. For conservatives to say that he is unfit to be Commander-in-Chief is to miss the point that he is much more a commander now than he was a week ago.

Rituals are important in government as are precedents. In bypassing the rituals, Obama has set a precedent, one that will be repeated next time under an even flimsier pretext. One of the goals in bombing Libya was not just to use military power against some unpopular dictator, but to test if he could use military power -- on a weekend and while out of town -- at will. Conservatives might ask if the Congress will ignore and the military will obey un-Constitutional orders while missing the fact that they just did.
There is much, much more there.  Read it, and think about the ATF gunrunning mess.  Accident or on purpose?  And what motivation would be at work?

I hope he's wrong.  I'm not sure that he is.  But his warning not to misunderestimate Obama sure sounds right.

7 comments:

wolfwalker said...

Conservatives might ask if the Congress will ignore and the military will obey un-Constitutional orders while missing the fact that they just did.

But did they know they were doing so? For that matter, were they unConstitutional orders? Past presidents have ordered short-term combat operations without clearing it first with Congress. And being a transnationalist UN-hugger, Barry Lackwit probably thought that it was legal because the UN said it was legal.

The man currently squatting in the Oval Office is stupid. I have never doubted that. It would take much more than this to make me doubt it now. I think he was just stumbling and staggering around in his usual way, doing what other people told him he should do or "had to" do, never wondering about legalities because hey, he never had to worry about that before, his pals in the Machine and the Press would cover for him. And indeed, covering for him is exactly what they're doing.

I place the blame for this, if blame exists to be placed, on Filthy Harry and the Bitch Princess. By never calling Lackwit to account for minor transgressions early in his term, they gave him the idea that he could do anything he wanted. I do not believe he has any specific plan to create an imperial presidency or to 'arrange' a reason to cancel future elections. I don't think he's that smart, I don't think he's that brave, and I certainly don't think he's that ambitious.

W W Woodward said...

Maybe not, Wolfwalker, but he is that arrogant.

And, arrogance is extremely dangerous the higher up the political ladder the arrogant one climbs, especially when blended with stupidity. You note, I did not say ignorance, because ignorance can be cured unless one is unwilling to take the time to learn.

[W3]

kdzu said...

The Malice extends to more, I believe, than just Obungler. He would see our Constitutional Republic destroyed, no doubt, but he has only the idea, leaving the hows and whys to others, perhaps smarter, certainly no less malicious.
We have certainly gotten the government we deserve, yet I hope sufficient numbers are awakening and remembering the lessons of their youth that we can still return to that Republic given to us so long ago, to see, as Franklin said, "If you can keep it".

NotClauswitz said...

This is how fascists use power and view the Presidency, just look at Hugo Chavez.

Ken said...

Observe closely and carefully. Take notes.

Tam said...

"The recent adventure into Libya, or shall I say ‘above Libya,’ is the first time in living memory we’ve seen the will of one man, even an American president, order and carry out an American military mission without even bothering to ask the American congress if it minds his messing about in a foreign country."

This is flat-out incorrect.

Windy Wilson said...

Tam is right. There were actions taken in the 60's and 70's by Republican Presidents that resulted in the Democrat Congress passing laws requiring Congressional approval after X number of days following the actions. The real story here is how unconcerned the worthless news media is when it is a Democrat forming an imperial Presidency or acting to move America into a military quagmire. It's been long enough, we can say that about Libya; after all, the news media didn't wait so long to declare Iraq a quagmire.