Fein on Iraq: Obama should unilaterally limit Presidential discretion by rejecting the AUMF
Good idea, Bruce, but do you really expect Obama to bite, and thereby drastically reduce his own discretion?
Obama already has George W. Bush and Congress to blame for the war – what important advantage does he gain by claiming the AUMF was an unconstitutional delegation of authority to the President? We all know that Presidents of all political stripes have traditionally looked for ways in which they could unilaterally use military force abroad in order to “wag the dog” at home and there by gain domestic political advantages. It seems a bit much to expect Obama to unilaterally cut off the tail that he now has considerable discretion to wag.
I tend to agree with Fein’s arguments that the system has gone wrong; I just don’t think we can realistically expect a President to unilaterally offer up a check on his own power. But if Obama proves me wrong, I’ll certainly rejoice.
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