Too Much Bush Power

From Dan Froomkin at The Washington Post Executive Power Outrage By Dan Froomkin Special to washingtonpost.com Tuesday, June 6, 2006; 1:09 PM When all is said and done, the biggest story of the Bush presidency will likely be its dramatic expansion of executive power -- engineered by Vice President Cheney, unchecked by a supine Congress, and underreported by the traditional media. Every so often, of course, you'll see a Washington journalist take a step back to examine the big picture. Even a modest sign of defiance in the legislative or judicial branches can serve as a handy news peg. And an excellent example of the species appears today in USA Today, where Susan Page writes: "After five years of a concerted White House campaign, there are tentative signs that Congress and the courts are beginning to push back against what has been the greatest expansion of presidential powers in a generation or more. "Those pushing back include some congressional Republicans and conservative jurists who have been among President Bush's chief allies. The efforts surely would intensify if Democrats won control of the House or Senate in November's elections -- and with it the power to convene hearings and issue subpoenas." Page cites such examples as the bipartisan condemnation of the FBI search of a congressional office and a Senate Intelligence Committee vote to demand that the administration notify all members of the committees about intelligence operations, not just some. Read More: White House Briefing