The Problem with Presidential Signing Statements: Their Use and Misuse by the Bush Administration
Submitted by davidswanson on Fri, 2006-01-13 16:19. Media
By JOHN W. DEAN
http://writ.findlaw.com/dean/20060113.html Presidential signing statements are old news to anyone who has served in the White House counsel's office. Presidents have long used them to add their two cents when a law passed by Congress has provisions they do not like, yet they are not inclined to veto it. Nixon's statements, for example, often related to spending authorization laws which he felt were excessive and contrary to his fiscal policies.
In this column, I'll take a close look at President Bush's use of signing statements. I find these signing statements are to Bush and Cheney's presidency what steroids were to Arnold Schwarzenegger's body building. Like Schwarzenegger with his steroids, Bush does not deny using his signing statements; does not like talking about using them; and believes that they add muscle.
But like steroids, signing statements ultimately lead to serious trouble.
Relying On Command, Rather Than Persuasion
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/6748