He’s three branches in one

Remember back in school when you were forced to read and recite all that mumbo jumbo about "separation of powers," "checks and balances," and America’s "three branches" of government? What a drag, huh? Happily, schoolkids can forget all that noise from now on, thanks to the invention of magic presidential sticky notes known as “signing statements”.

Yesterday’s Boston Globe story, "Bush challenges hundreds of laws," contains plenty of food for thought, including this:

David Golove, a New York University law professor who specializes in executive-power issues, said 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.

And:

A president who ignores the court, backed by a Congress that is unwilling to challenge him, Golove said, can make the Constitution simply ”disappear.”

Simon says, "Poof."