The Czar Canard

David B. Rivkin Jr. and Lee A. Casey, who served in the Justice Department under Reagan and H.W. Bush, correct Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and other Republicans for claiming that Obama's "czars" are an unchecked, unconstitutional abuse of executive power:

In many respects, [czars] are equivalent to the personal staff of a member of Congress. To subject the qualifications of such assistants to congressional scrutiny -- the regular confirmation process -- would trench upon the president's inherent right, as the head of an independent and equal branch of the federal government, to seek advice and counsel where he sees fit. [...] However much the czars may drive the policymaking process at the White House, they cannot -- despite their grandiose (and frankly ridiculous) appellation -- determine what that policy will be. The Constitution's "appointments clause" requires that very senior federal officials be appointed with the Senate's consent, though lesser appointments can be made by the president, agency heads or the courts, as Congress provides.

As Hutchison decries Obama's creation of "an unprecedented 32 czar posts," a recent report found that the last president created 36. And by the way, here's a cursory look at Hutchison's record on executive power during the Bush era, according to OnTheIssues.org:

Voted NO on requiring FISA court warrant to monitor US-to-foreign calls. (Feb 2008)
Voted YES on removing need for FISA warrant for wiretapping abroad. (Aug 2007)
Voted NO on preserving habeas corpus for Guantanamo detainees. (Sep 2006)
Voted NO on requiring CIA reports on detainees & interrogation methods. (Sep 2006)
Voted YES on reauthorizing the PATRIOT Act. (Mar 2006)
Voted YES on extending the PATRIOT Act's wiretap provision. (Dec 2005)

(Photo by Flickr user MeetTheCrazies. More 9/12 images here.)