Bush's Signing Statements

Martin Kettle has an excellent article in The Guardian Unlimited that I recommend. The article, titled America's problem is again a usurping king called George, is dated June 17th... which means I'm a little late in discovering it. The message of the article is still relevant, though. President Bush, instead of vetoing a bill he doesn't like, simply attaches his own interpretation of the bill to it along with any actions he reserves unto himself--or any future president for that matter. It's a good read.

 

As a teaser, here's an excerpt from the article: "Imagine a country with a different kind of monarch from the one we are used to. Forget the nation-binding human monarch whom Archbishop Rowan Williams praised so deftly this week. Imagine instead a monarch who, like many of Elizabeth II's ancestors, routinely reserved the right to override laws passed by the legislature, or who repeatedly asserted that the laws mean something they do not say. Imagine, in fact, King George of America."

 

I especially liked the article's closing paragraph... but you'll have to go read it for yourself. (And no skipping to the end, either!)