Executive Power

This Week In Magazines: Obama The "Self-Entangling Giant"

James Warren | Posted 11.27.2009 | Media


James Warren

No matter how much he might disdain the W. presidency, especially when it came to misuse of executive branch power, Barack Obama may be a "self-entangling giant" who is going down the same perilous path.

A Dialogue on Leadership in Uncertain Times: Session 3

Jan Birchfield, Ph.D | Posted 11.08.2009 | Living


Jan Birchfield, Ph.D

Humility arises when we see through the illusion of personal identification with power; this increases the chance that we will use it in service of something larger than ourselves.

I Want You to Sell Your Body!

Joe The Nerd Ferraro | Posted 09.25.2009 | Politics


Joe The Nerd Ferraro

We grouse about Congress people prostituting themselves all the time. If we believe in health care, we may have to do the same, as it were.

Our Shadowy Government: Czars, Health Reform, And Bush's Resurgence

Harry Moroz | Posted 09.21.2009 | Politics


Harry Moroz

Criticism of Obama and the czar "system" is overblown. In fact, a czar's power comes not from dictatorial authority, but from humble restraint.

Sahil Kapur

Transparency Groups Urge Obama To Involve Public In Executive Order Revisions

HuffingtonPost.com | Sahil Kapur | Posted 09.06.2009 | Politics


As President Obama prepares to modify the rules of executive power, 21 public advocacy groups and individuals are fighting to make sure he fulfills hi...

Wilderness Warrior: Douglas Brinkley's New Historical Epic of Theodore Roosevelt Has Key Lessons for Our Time

Paul Abrams | Posted 09.02.2009 | Green


Paul Abrams

When Roosevelt preserved a natural wonder or habitat, he was accused of being a socialist. The same battles are still being waged against the same forces and with the same terminology.

The Real Ugly Truth

Tracey Jackson | Posted 08.24.2009 | Entertainment


Tracey Jackson

When I read Ms. Dargis and all the other critics who sight Nicole Eastman, and Lutz and Smith as being unfunny or not able to deliver or "peddle shamelessly," all I can do is yell.

President Obama's Clear Abuse Of Power Cited By...Senator Obama

Rob Warmowski | Posted 07.28.2009 | Home


Rob Warmowski

Those who sought legal idealism from the Obama administration won't be getting it, and those who saw a bloated, creeping Executive branch under Bush/Cheney have not, after all, voted in a choirboy.

Jason Linkins

Sotomayor An Unknown Quantity On Executive Power Issues

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 06.26.2009 | Media


Back in the dark ages of, say, yesterday, when I had settled into the (totally wrong) mindset that today's nomination announcement was going the way o...

The Groundwork Has Already Been Laid for Martial Law

John W. Whitehead | Posted 04.10.2009 | Politics


John W. Whitehead

Bush laid the groundwork for an imperial presidency and a potentially totalitarian government -- a state of affairs that has not ended with Barack Obama's ascension to the Oval Office, despite hopes to the contrary.

Dialing Back Dick: It's Time to Look Back and Scale Back the Enhanced Powers of the Bush Oval Office

Kristen Breitweiser | Posted 02.13.2009 | Politics


Kristen Breitweiser

Now that we have a Democrat President and Congress, perhaps it is time to show proof to the American people about just how effective Bush tactics really were in keeping us safe.

Executive Vigor Without Executive Arrogance III: Three Steps Away from the Unitary Presidency

Peter M. Shane | Posted 02.09.2009 | Politics


Peter M. Shane

My last two posts focused on whether a newly inaugurated President Obama can move energetically to displace Bush-era policy without embracing a radica...

Executive Vigor Without Executive Arrogance II: A Primer on Executive Orders

Peter M. Shane | Posted 02.09.2009 | Politics


Peter M. Shane

If the President issues a pardon, no later President can undo it. After George H. W. Bush pardoned the Iran-Contra defendants, Presidents Clinton could not say: "Hold on! I'm taking those pardons back!"

Executive Vigor Without Executive Arrogance I: Ending the Reign of Signing Statements

Peter M. Shane | Posted 01.29.2009 | Politics


Peter M. Shane

With supporters clamoring for the new president to wipe away Bush-era policies with a stroke of a pen, how can the new president wield his own pen without embracing the Bush assault on constitutionalism?

Lame Duck Prosecution: Are Nuclear Pardons in the Works?

Lynne Glasner | Posted 01.09.2009 | Politics


Lynne Glasner

Is there any intention of pursuing prosecution before or after January 20? Nadler has strongly condemned the idea of preemptive pardons, something incompatible with our democracy.

After the (Grand Old) Party: Don't Go Home Just Yet

Shahid Buttar | Posted 12.12.2008 | Politics


Shahid Buttar

If the crowds celebrating Obama's victory go home in 2009, his Administration will achieve disappointing results. The President-Elect will confront a variety of national and global crises.

Moderate Republicans Unhappy With Party's New Principles

Chuck Lasker | Posted 11.30.2008 | Home


Chuck Lasker

The Republican Party is a ghost of its original self. It's no wonder reasonable, tolerant, progressive Republicans are jumping ship, while new recruits to the Party are diminishing.

Give Unto Batman That Which is Batman's

James Block | Posted 11.29.2008 | Chicago


James Block

As the nation prepares to close out the final chapter of the Bush 43 administration, it might be informative to reconsider the pinnacle of the era's popular culture. Sometimes even a box office smash can tell us things we don't want to hear.

Bankers Blink at Paulson's Unprecedented Power, Shock and Awe; So Should We!

Rob Kall | Posted 11.15.2008 | Business


Rob Kall

Come November 5th, when the election is over, Congress has an obligation to protect us from the final days of Bush and Cheney.

Senator Feingold's Hearing to Restore "The Rule of Law"

John W. Whitehead | Posted 10.23.2008 | Politics


John W. Whitehead

As the various branches of government overstep their authority, it is ultimately up to the people to hold them in check.

How To Empower Yourself: Vote For...You!

Eli Davidson | Posted 10.05.2008 | Living


Eli Davidson

Don't kid yourself. It doesn't matter who you vote for. If you don't vote for yourself...nothing in your life is going to change. As inspiring as Bar...

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of a Platform - Dallas Platform Meeting

Esther Drew | Posted 08.06.2008 | Home


Esther Drew

Saturday, July 26 at two in the afternoon, I found myself in the living room of Jon and Liesl McQuillan. This, my first chance to attend a Democratic ...

Bush to EPA: "Hi. Thanks for Writing. Between Now and January 20, I Won't Have Access to Email."

Marty Kaplan | Posted 07.03.2008 | Politics


Marty Kaplan

The Bush White House has come up with an ingenious new way to take care not to faithfully execute the laws of the land.

Senator Sam's Challenge to Presidential Power

Julian E. Zelizer and Bruce Schulman | Posted 06.12.2008 | Politics


Julian E. Zelizer and Bruce Schulman

We seem to be back to the summer of 1973, although in some respects Bush's extension of executive power has been much more dramatic than anything in that period.

Executive Privilege: Let Congress's Contempt Suit Proceed

Emily Berman and Aziz Huq | Posted 06.10.2008 | Politics


Emily Berman and Aziz Huq

The executive is assigned the tools to respond to danger -- which also makes it the branch that poses the greatest risk to our own liberties and the branch in greatest need of oversight.