Obama, not Bush, now seeking delay of Rove deposition

"The inauguration of a new president has altered the dynamics of this case and created new opportunities for compromise rather than litigation," Hertz wrote in the brief dated Friday. "At the same time, there is now an additional interested party — the former president — whose views should be considered."

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Hertz's statement mirrors a statement from Obama White House Counsel Gregory Craig published Saturday.

"The president is very sympathetic to those who want to find out what happened," Craig told The Washington Post. "But he is also mindful as president of the United States not to do anything that would undermine or weaken the institution of the presidency. So, for that reason, he is urging both sides of this to settle."

Both Hertz's and Craig's statement point to an underlying challenge Obama faces with regard to Rove. Since former President Bush still claims that Rove is protected from testifying to Congress by executive privilege, even after departing office, Obama must decide whether he wants to risk diluting his own executive privilege in the future.

These statements, however, stand in contrast to Obama's previous rhetoric.

In 2007, while in the Senate, Obama rebuked Bush's White House as "the most secretive in modern history," which aimed "to hide its abuse of our justice system."

Responding to a Bush claim of executive privilege, he said, "By continuing to act as the most secretive White House in modern history, the Bush Administration has once again placed itself above the law in order to hide its abuse of our justice system from the American people. On the first day of an Obama Administration, we will launch the most sweeping ethics reform in history to shed sunlight on the decisions made by government and put the interests of the American people at the center of every decision that's made."

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danarhea said:

And guess what reason Obama is giving for taking this position? He does say that he wants the truth to come out, but at the same time, his reason for the delay is so as not to weaken the presidency. Apparently, Obama likes the idea of the "unitary president".

To all those who supported a Bush Imperial presidency - The chickens have come home to roost. We have another Imperial president, only it is a Democratic one this time. How do you like THEM apples? And please don't start griping about Obama misusing his power in any way. YOU are the ones who enabled it.

Article is here.

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danarhea said:

And guess what reason Obama is giving for taking this position? He does say that he wants the truth to come out, but at the same time, his reason for the delay is so as not to weaken the presidency. Apparently, Obama likes the idea of the "unitary president".

To all those who supported a Bush Imperial presidency - The chickens have come home to roost. We have another Imperial president, only it is a Democratic one this time. How do you like THEM apples? And please don't start griping about Obama misusing his power in any way. YOU are the ones who enabled it.

Article is here.

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Slippery Slope said:

Uhhhh, don't you think it's just a little early to be lumping anything Obama does with Bush? I mean, it's a little soon to be labeling his, an imperial Presidency.

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