Bushco - throwing red meat to the base or fighting to the death?

on the one hand, you can characterize the recess appointments as a masterstroke of idiocy, but i think this characterization is probably closer to the mark...

The recess appointments helped put the White House where it likes to be: in a robust fight with the Democrats that even the president’s most dispirited backers can get excited about. As one administration official put it, “It allows us to get our footing back, at least, on issues that resonate with the public.”

it may resonate with SOME of the public, but for those of us who are paying attention, it's just more of the same - totally over-the-top arrogance designed to sidestep any accountability and to neuter the balance of powers... and, although i'm getting tired of posting this excerpt, we must not forget the fact that the bush administration laid out the plan they're now following BEFORE the november elections...

In fact, when it comes to deploying its Executive power, which is dear to Bush's understanding of the presidency, the President's team has been planning for what one strategist describes as "a cataclysmic fight to the death" over the balance between Congress and the White House if confronted with congressional subpoenas it deems inappropriate. The strategist says the Bush team is "going to assert that power, and they're going to fight it all the way to the Supreme Court on every issue, every time, no compromise, no discussion, no negotiation."

in that light, i think it's less about playing to the base as it is another naked demonstration of unilateral executive power, just to remind all of us who's REALLY boss...

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