Check out this defense of Bush from the American Enterprise Institute. Not one word to suggest that Bush’s actions benefited anyone. The bulk of the article devoted to claiming that the executive aggrandizement Madison feared was predicted by Alexis de Tocqueville. I’ll predict right now that we’ll see more of it and worse if Bush is not placed behind bars, but that doesn’t mean I endorse it and shouldn’t convince anyone it is a good thing. The defense of the Iraq war lies here is pathetic and centers on claiming that Clinton made the same lies. FISA violations are OK if you’re a president. Torture is OK because one of the many laws and treaties banning it applies only to prisoners of war, and Bush’s war was just a pretend war. Guantanamo is OK because previous presidents used it too. Habeas corpus is not needed because there are precedents of denying it to foreigners. Rewriting and then violating laws with signing statements is OK since previous presidents used them for harmless commentary. Having established that the laws of Congress mean nothing, the PATRIOT Act’s outrages are justified because contained in a law passed by Congress. And, besides, the president is SUPPOSED to be an emperor anyway!