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Originally Posted by Willravel
They'll only exploit in different manners if the manners Bush used are no longer viable. And here's the bottom line: there are a finite number of ways to fuck with the system, so the more manners removed from that list, the less likely someone is to fuck with the system. Eventually, it will be so difficult that many won't even bother running. That's the point of making new laws.
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A future president can only exploit the law as Bush has done ONLY if Congress does not perform its oversight responsibility fully and faithfully.
Congressional Research Service published a report for the US State Dept several years ago to explain the role of Congressional oversight to foreign government officials:
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Oversight, as an outgrowth of this principle (checks and balances), ideally serves a number of overlapping objectives and purposes:* improve the efficiency, economy, and effectiveness of governmental operations;
* evaluate programs and performance;
* detect and prevent poor administration, waste, abuse, arbitrary and capricious behavior, or illegal and unconstitutional conduct;
* protect civil liberties and constitutional rights;
* inform the general public and ensure that executive policies reflect the public interest;
* gather information to develop new legislative proposals or to amend existing statutes;
* ensure administrative compliance with legislative intent; and
* prevent executive encroachment on legislative authority and prerogatives. CRS Report: Congressional Oversight (pdf)
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We saw what happened when Congress abrogated that responsibility for six years.
We should allow Congress to complete its oversight job with regard to the policies and practices of the Bush administration regardless of how long it takes in order to make it clear that the government is open and accountable to to the American people and that the unilateral interpretation of the powers of the Executive branch by any future president will not go unheeded.
IMO, this brief report should be required reading for every new member of Congress and every future president (and his/her senior staff).
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That oversight should absolutely include sworn testimony from Scott McClellan , who after all, is the subject of the OP.
It will be interesting to see if Bush attempts to prevent McClellan from testifying later this month with a claim of executive privilege AFTER the WH had vetted McClellan's book and allowed it to be published.