This article, by Robert F. Turner, of the Cornell Law School, is very long, but well worth the read, since it addresses the process by which John Yoo formulated many of his opinions for the Bush administration. While Yoo is taking a lot of heat over his opinions on torture, he is nevertheless a very gifted legal scholar. His purpose in the Bush administration seems to be fighting against Congressional usurpation of Executive power, and to an extent, he is right. However, as Congress has pushed its power excessively in one direction, Yoo pushes back excessively in the opposite direction. Some time in the future, both trends will balance out, while the intent of our forefathers is upheld. Both executive and legislative power are sacrosanct, and discrete entities, and one should never overlap the other, whether by act of Congress, or by Presidential signing statements.
Read the article, and you will plainly see that it addresses a war that has been fought since the American Revolution - A perpetual war between Congress and the President. I found this article so fascinating that I intend to buy the book.
Article is here.
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