The American Spectator

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Original Sin

By Daniel J. Flynn on 8.14.08 @ 12:07AM

(Page 2 of 2)

MORE CONTROVERSIAL to Woods' and Gutzman's audience may be their attack upon presidential signing statements. They single out the current president, claiming that "instead of vetoing legislation, Bush found he could sign it into law and simply refuse to carry out those provisions that -- under his expansive view of executive power -- he considered unconstitutional."

Does not the Constitution outline a specific oath for presidents -- and not for legislators or judges -- vowing to "preserve, protect, and defend" the Constitution? In other words, the president has a specific duty not to execute unconstitutional laws. One can see the authors' point regarding the potential for abuse. But signing statements, rather than antithetical to Constitutional government, can, if not used whimsically, be an integral part of it.

In an unhelpful conclusion entitled "Can Anything Be Done?," the authors essentially answer "no." "The Constitution is dead," they state in the chapter's opening line.

Amidst the gloom, there is reason for hope. Many of the most egregious offenses against the Constitution cited in this book have been eradicated. Where is the Office of Price Stabilization? Are individuals still prohibited from owning gold? Do government run steel mills exist anymore? What federal restrictions on speech occur amidst today's wars that remotely compare to those during World War I? The answers to these questions suggest that something can be done. Believing the situation hopeless is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

This pessimistic conclusion fortunately precedes an optimistic appendix, a copy of the Constitution, which certainly gives the riled-up readers of the informative Who Killed the Constitution? a start on what must be done.

Letter to the Editor

topics:
Constitution, Law, Supreme Court