So, according to the White House and their letter to Congress, Bush has the inherent constitutional authority to do essentially whatever is necessary to further our national security.
But, remember the initial days after Katrina. Bush was supposedly helpless to act because the Governor of Louisiana had not requested the right kind of federal assistance. Remember? The law prevented Bush from just taking action on his own. Remember? Of course, we know now that all of that was a lie because the documents reveal that Blanco had made all the appropriate requests. But, now, in light of the arguments this Administration makes to try and explain why Bush has not broken the law with respect to the warrantless roving wiretaps, the hypocrisy is so thick I feel like I cannot breathe. More, and a question, on the flip.
There are so many, many things wrong with this Administration. The hubris, the disregard for opposing viewpoints, the unbridled rush to label all dissent as unpatriotic, but it is days like today that the opportunistic hypocrisy really weights me down.
The other thing that weighs me down is this: Why am I, an attorney home from work for the holidays hanging out with his daughter, reminded of Katrina and Bush's justification for gross inaction, but no one in the media seems to be?
Seriously, how hard would it be for someone with access to a microphone or a camera to ask this White House: "Why is that the President can freely disregard federal law to protect us from terrorists, but could not disregard federal law to protect the citizes of the Gulf Coast from Katrina?"
(And, please, please, please, do not misunderstand my phrasing of the question. I do not believe the President has the authority he claims to ignore federal law. But, it is incredibly revealing to focus on the juxtaposition of these two events. This same man who will rush headlong in a direction requiring not only violation of federal law, but also the eradication of our civil rights will not overlook red tape in order to help thousands of impoverished U.S. citizens imperiled by the forces of nature.)