George Bush is like a bank robber.
I have the "authority" to take money from my bank account. But I can't walk into the bank and reach into the till and grab a handful of bills. I have forms to fill out. I have to notify the bank I am taking the money so that they can do right by all the other customers. If I just walk into the bank and take money it is a crime. It is a crime against the bank, it is a crime against all the bank's customers, it is a crime against society.
George Bush has the "authority" to declassify information. But he needs to fillout forms too. He can't just reach into the national till of secret information and grab what he wants without telling the bank.
I am infuriated that our media shrugs their shoulders and says,"'of course the President can declassify information". Where is the follow-up about how you de-classify something? If Bush did declassify the NIE and Plame's undercover status, where is the documentation? Anybody thinking past the simple assertion will know that what the President did with Scooter Libby and the NIE was not declassification but a criminal act. He just took something he had access to and used it to hurt people and protect himself.
George "Baby Face" Nelson was the most vicious Depression-era bank robber. He killed innocent by-standers. He killed cops. He was an arrogant person with a gun who took what he wanted and didn't care who got hurt. When society finally caught up with him, his fellow criminals just tossed him by the road side. When is society going to catch up with Bush and will his fellow gangsters toss George "Baby Face" Bush over too?