It's not just the deficit

For Democratic opponents of the Bush administration, it's about more than just money.

President Bush's penchant for writing exceptions to laws he has just signed violates the Constitution, an American Bar Association task force says in a report highly critical of the practice.
The ABA group, which includes a one-time FBI director and former federal appeals court judge, said the president has overstepped his authority in attaching challenges to hundreds of new laws.

The attachments, known as bill-signing statements, say Bush reserves a right to revise, interpret or disregard measures on national security and constitutional grounds.

"This report raises serious concerns crucial to the survival of our democracy," said the ABA's president, Michael Greco. "If left unchecked, the president's practice does grave harm to the separation of powers doctrine, and the system of checks and balances that have sustained our democracy for more than two centuries."

So that's starting a war in Iraq under false pretenses, disengaging in Middle East with tragic results, making the United States an international pariah with unilateralism, an unprovoked invasion and by embracing torture, bankrupting our nation for generations, doing nothing to stop the progression of global warming, and threatening the very survival of our democracy.

You gotta admit, that's an impressive amount of damage, certainly more than I ever thought George Bush was capable of doing -- especially considering the amount of time he spends on vacation.

Seriously, if there's one thing -- ONE! -- that this administration has done right; one situation that has been improved, or even simply not made worse, for this country or the world through the Bush administration's handling of it; one success this administration can point to, I'd love to know what it is.

Has there ever been another failure this perfect and complete?