E Pluribus Unum

The Decider blames the Generals
Colin Powell, the former Secretary of State and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, recounts that he counseled Bush, the Commander in Chief, to send more troops to Iraq. We know the result. Condi Rice, the current Secretary of State, explains it away with this comment:

"When it came down to it, the president listens to his military advisers who were to execute the plan."

Why does Condi hate the military?

Iran: Double or nothing
Josh Marshall:

The only crisis with Iran is the crisis with the president's public approval ratings. Period. End of story. The Iranians are years, probably as long as a decade away, and possibly even longer from creating even a limited yield nuclear weapon. Ergo, the only reason to ramp up a confrontation now is to help the president's poll numbers....It turns on how far a desperate president will go to avoid losing control of Congress.

Lawbreaker in Chief
Boston Globe:

President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution....

Bush has cast a cloud over ''the whole idea that there is a rule of law," because no one can be certain of which laws Bush thinks are valid and which he thinks he can ignore...

[H]e also thinks a very significant amount of the other laws that were already on the books before he became president are also unconstitutional...

Most people think this is normal behavior for the Chief Executive. It is not. The framers would be appalled. Fact is, the only way for things to go back into balance is for the Legislative branch to re-assert its Constitutional powers by exercising any or all of its proper authority:

1. Sidetrack his agenda
2. Cut off his funding
3. Conduct proper oversight of his actions
4. Impeach and and convict.

None of this will happen until the rubber-stamp Republican majority is overturned at the ballot box. In short -- if you're happy with the way things are, vote for the Republicans. If you believe things have got to change, vote for the Democrats.