Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Washington Post
April 16, 2007
Pg. 15
By Michael Abramowitz, Washington Post Staff Writer
Democratic lawmakers and liberal scholars have taken issue with the White House assertion that Congress does not have the constitutional authority to "micromanage" the war, and they seem to have an unlikely ally: President Bush.
Asked at a recent news conference about congressional war powers, Bush seemed to suggest that while he disagrees with efforts to set a timetable for withdrawal, lawmakers are within their constitutional rights to do so.
"The Congress is exercising its legitimate authority as it sees fit right now," Bush said. "I just disagree with their decisions. I think setting an artificial timetable for withdrawal is a significant mistake. It sends mixed signals and bad signals to the region, and to the Iraqi citizens."
Those comments tracked Bush's statement to the Wall Street Journal editorial page months ago that Congress has "the right to try to use the power of the purse to determine policy," and could put limits on how he deploys troops in Iraq.
These answers seem to fly in the face of White House statements that the House and Senate war-funding bills -- which include dates for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq -- are both misguided and unconstitutional. On March 19, the White House threatened to veto the House bill, which would require U.S. combat troops to leave Iraq by Aug. 31, 2008, and said it would "infringe on the President's constitutional authority as Commander in Chief to manage the readiness and availability of the Armed Forces."
The White House raised similar constitutional concerns about the Senate legislation, which sets a goal of withdrawing troops by March 31, 2008.
As he has described them, Bush's seemingly more relaxed legal standards have surprised some conservative legal scholars. White House spokesman Tony Fratto said Bush was acknowledging that Congress has the power to pass laws as it sees fit even if the administration has a different judgment about whether the laws are constitutional. The president still believes the House and Senate bills "infringe on his powers as commander in chief," Fratto said.
April 16, 2007
Pg. 15
By Michael Abramowitz, Washington Post Staff Writer
Democratic lawmakers and liberal scholars have taken issue with the White House assertion that Congress does not have the constitutional authority to "micromanage" the war, and they seem to have an unlikely ally: President Bush.
Asked at a recent news conference about congressional war powers, Bush seemed to suggest that while he disagrees with efforts to set a timetable for withdrawal, lawmakers are within their constitutional rights to do so.
"The Congress is exercising its legitimate authority as it sees fit right now," Bush said. "I just disagree with their decisions. I think setting an artificial timetable for withdrawal is a significant mistake. It sends mixed signals and bad signals to the region, and to the Iraqi citizens."
Those comments tracked Bush's statement to the Wall Street Journal editorial page months ago that Congress has "the right to try to use the power of the purse to determine policy," and could put limits on how he deploys troops in Iraq.
These answers seem to fly in the face of White House statements that the House and Senate war-funding bills -- which include dates for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq -- are both misguided and unconstitutional. On March 19, the White House threatened to veto the House bill, which would require U.S. combat troops to leave Iraq by Aug. 31, 2008, and said it would "infringe on the President's constitutional authority as Commander in Chief to manage the readiness and availability of the Armed Forces."
The White House raised similar constitutional concerns about the Senate legislation, which sets a goal of withdrawing troops by March 31, 2008.
As he has described them, Bush's seemingly more relaxed legal standards have surprised some conservative legal scholars. White House spokesman Tony Fratto said Bush was acknowledging that Congress has the power to pass laws as it sees fit even if the administration has a different judgment about whether the laws are constitutional. The president still believes the House and Senate bills "infringe on his powers as commander in chief," Fratto said.