Bush Won't Let Facts Stand in the Way in Iran

They have demonstrated a tendency to exaggerate threats in the form of weapons of mass destruction to exploit the ignorance of the American public and the fear that is derived from this ignorance. They did so with Iraq. They made a case for war based upon weapons of mass destruction that they fail to back up with anything other than rhetoric.COMMENT FROM DIGG: Ritter: It's an ugly process. It takes time. It's not convenient. And presidents want to wield their executive authority. And so, especially in time of war, they've created this concept -- and it's totally at odds with the Constitution -- of the unitary executive where the president has unilateral powers in times of war. Somebody like Ron Paul, I think, somebody who knows the Constitution, takes a look at this notion of unitary executive authority and says, "Humbug. That's ridiculous." And I agree with him. I think it's imperative that whoever becomes president understands that there are constitutional restrictions on what the president can and can't do. I also think it's imperative that Congress start reading the Constitution and flexing its constitutional muscles. That there is a role for Congress to play. It's called oversight. And that Congress can retard irresponsible policy, that the president doesn't get a blank check when it comes to foreign policy and national security policy. But, as you mentioned, we don't have a Congress that seems to be enlightened in this fashion, and outside of a Ron Paul we don't have too many people who have announced themselves as candidates for the president who will publicly commit to reversing this trend towards a unitary executive.

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