Bush Backs Off

Good news for the independence of uniformed military lawyers:

Geoff Morrell, Pentagon press secretary, said William "Jim" Haynes, the Defense Department's general counsel, decided on Monday to shelve the idea. Morell said the military services' legal departments had also expressed concern about the proposal in internal Pentagon reviews.

"In light of the feedback that [Haynes] received, he thought that it was wiser to try a different approach," Morrell said.

Charlie Savage gets mad props for highlighting this. And if you haven't read his book on the comeback of the imperial presidency, check it out.