McCain And Executive Power

Matt Welch says no one should be under any false impression:

I don't think he'll be hiring John Yoo, or looking actively for new methods to justify torture, but if you think that any John Sidney McCain will let something like the letter of the law, or the constitutional separation of powers, prevent him from acting swiftly to defend America's interests (however he defines it), then you probably haven't been paying close attention.

Ron Bailey adds:

Pace Holtz-Eakin, this issue is not of interest only to "the ACLU and trial lawyers"; pace McCain, it is not an excuse for pointless recriminations about long-ago actions that are irrelevant to "addressing the challenge we face today." As we "move forward," there are few questions more important than whether the president is bound to obey the law even when it conflicts with his own ideas about how best to fight terrorism. If McCain cannot give a straight answer to that question and stick to it, he does not deserve the vote of anyone who believes in the rule of law and the separation of powers.

(Photo: Mario Tama/Getty.)