The Rise of the Fourth Reich - ThereAreNoSunglasses

PSYCHOLOGY AND PUBLIC CONTROL 341Charlie Savage, writing in the Boston Globe, said Bush is the first presidentin modern history who has never vetoed a bill, thus giving Congressno chance to override his judgments. (In late 2007, Bush’s veto of a $23billion water resources bill critics claimed was laden with pork projectswas overridden by both the House and the Senate, marking the first timein a decade that Congress passed legislation over a presidential veto.) Bushoften invites the bills’ sponsors to signing ceremonies, at which he lavishespraise upon their work. But Savage noted: “Then, after the media and thelawmakers have left the White House, Bush quietly files ‘signingstatements’—official documents in which a president lays out his legal interpretationof a bill for the federal bureaucracy to follow when implementingthe new law. The statements are recorded in the federal register.In his signing statements, Bush has repeatedly asserted that the Constitutiongives him the right to ignore numerous sections of the bills—sometimesincluding provisions that were the subject of negotiations withCongress in order to get lawmakers to pass the bill.”Van Bergen took particular note of Bush’s signing statement while hewas signing into law legislation curtailing torture on prisoners. “WhenPresident Bush signed the new law, sponsored by Senator [ John] McCain,restricting the use of torture when interrogating detainees, he also issueda presidential signing statement,” said Van Bergen. “That statement assertedthat his power as commander in chief gives him the authority tobypass the very law he had just signed.”Portland State University law professor Phillip Cooper told newsmenBush and his legal team spent the past five years quietly working to concentrateever more governmental power in the White House. “There isno question that this administration has been involved in a very carefullythought out, systematic pro cess of expanding presidential power at theexpense of the other branches of government. This is really big, very expansive,and very significant,” Cooper said.Little is said of such things, because the Bush White House is moreclosed-mouthed than any previous administration. In the Nixon, Reagan,Clinton, and both Bush administrations, loyalty has been seen as a requisitefor those serving the White House. Many people working with thehighest levels of power in the United States see their superiors as public