*** TOON: "Do Any Of The Candidates For President Know CPR?" ***

Will the next president -- especially a Democratic president -- disavow Bush's unitary executive (Commander-in-Chief unaccountable to Congress, etc) and restore the Constitution?

THE PLEDGE:

As a candidate for president of the United States, I pledge once elected to disavow the extra-Constitutional powers of the so-called "unitary" executive; to protect and defend the Constitution and uphold the rule of law. I also pledge to lead the legislative effort to restore the Constitution so that there will once again be a fully intact set of rights and liberties available to all people living in America and held under U.S. jurisdiction as existed prior to January 2001. I pledge to bring the presidency back into balance with the other two branches, while exercising the Constitutional rights and duties afforded the president by the Constitution.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/4/15/103251/955

How to Restore America's Place in the World

We must begin to think about life after Bush—a cheering prospect for his foes, a dismaying one for his fans (however few there may be at the moment). In 19 months he will be a private citizen, giving speeches to insurance executives. America, however, will have to move on and restore its place in the world. To do this we must first tackle the consequences of our foreign policy of fear. Having spooked ourselves into believing that we have no option but to act fast, alone, unilaterally and pre-emptively, we have managed in six years to destroy decades of international good will, alienate allies, embolden enemies and yet solve few of the major international problems we face.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19001200/site/newsweek/

Other People Have Cleaned Up Bush's Messes His Whole Life: Now It's Iraq

When he was young, caretakers picked up his toys. When he was a dissolute adult, protectors covered up for his seedy, irresponsible behavior and dereliction of duty. When he was older, his father's friends cleaned up after his business failures.

Someone has always cleaned up Bush's messes for him. He's never had to or been able to do it himself.

He is a careless, reckless person who smashes up things and creatures, and retreats back to his money -- the bubble of his ignorant, feckless privilege -- and lets other people clean up the mess that he has made.

It has always been that way with George W. Bush, and always will be.

http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/analysis/098

But after Bush, recovery could be swift

The next US president will inherit a legacy of global mistrust. Restoration of its authority must begin with a painful exit from Iraq

Max Hastings

Historians will surely judge that Bush's two terms of office have done much more damage to US interests, and indeed to those of the world, than Carter's blunders a generation ago. A few months ago I heard a British diplomat in Washington bemoan the horrors of the current administration. We must just somehow stagger through to the end, he muttered. I said that it seemed rash to assume the next US president would be perfectly to the taste of Britain, or the world, because few people elected to the White House ever are. He said: "Nothing, absolutely nothing, could be worse than what we have got now."

Whatever happens between now and January 2009, America's next president will inherit a legacy of global mistrust, alienation and loss of respect unknown in modern times. It is unlikely that President Bush will admit the logic of defeat in Iraq and start withdrawing. It will fall to his successor to face that humiliation, which will dominate the first stage of a new administration.

Article continues
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2084994,00.htm

By Reggie, Contributing Editor, TvNewsLIES.org

Imagine being on the brink of adolescence in the year 2000, - only minimally aware of the world around you, and really not into the foibles of politics or politicians. Life was what it was, and you took it pretty much for granted. In fact, for you and other young teens in 2000; things seemed pretty good and getting better, because you were growing up in the richest and most powerful nation in the whole damn world.

It wasn’t a perfect place, for sure, but it had potential. There were wrongs to be righted, but there was real hope that things would only get better as the years went on. All in all, in the year 2000, being a kid in America was a good thing to be.

Now imagine that it is seven years later and you have just grown into adulthood, and you gradually realize that in a frighteningly short a time your entire world has become unraveled. In just seven years, everything good that once was there is gone, and your country has come apart at the seams before your very eyes.

Really think about these last seven years :cry: and recoil :scared: at what it actually means to have come of age in Bush’s America.

http://tvnewslies.org/blog/?p=651

Times Herald-Record
July 30, 2007

The damage our nation has suffered these past 6½ years is so great that I am neither Democrat nor Republican in the coming election. I am an American.

Both parties have been betrayed, and both should produce candidates willing to look at the vast wreckage President Bam Bam has wrought and say, "My job is to fix this mess."

I will vote for the candidate who says that. And I want my candidate to say these things, too:

"I will fight a real fight against the terrorists without creating a rallying point for extremists."

"I will forbid torture, and I will not secretly send prisoners to countries that allow it."

"I will honor the Constitution, not subvert it."

"I will not give a damn whether gay people get married, nor conjure up similarly dumb non-issues to distract Americans from the real problems we face."

"I will not spy on Americans without taking the steps required by law — and then only when it is in the interest of national security."

"I will honor my own God and worship in my own way without dragging religion into the national conversation. America is not a theocracy."

"I will close Guantanamo and ensure that all prisoners held there are immediately released or else charged with a crime and provided a lawyer."

Surely, such a person exists and is willing to begin undoing the damage done by this ignorant, arrogant, imperial child-president.

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070730/NEWS/707300319/-1/NEWS

:kick: