They’re called executive orders, and Bush had hundreds of them. They, along with signing statements — where a president may add anything he likes onto legislation he’s about to sign — were the chief methodology by which the Bush administration abused their power and expanded their control over the rest of the government.
Commentators at the time warned that this was a very dangerous administration, because whoever took over after them would be unlikely to just give their expanded power back, and I agreed. But we didn’t, apparently, expect Barack Obama to be elected, because that’s exactly what he’s planning:
Transition advisers to President-elect Barack Obama have compiled a list of about 200 Bush administration actions and executive orders that could be swiftly undone.
It’s still unclear what all, specifically, will be undone — and much of it is about recasting policies on climate change and stem cell research in predictably liberal lights. But if he erases one executive privilege, or strips just a few signing statements, it is a happy day. Plenty of other potential presidents would not have.
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