Is It Too Much To Ask For Someone Decent To Help Run Our Country?

I read this article today about Cheney's new Chief of Staff, who's replacing Gonzo. It's very interesting.

Source:

The Hidden Power
by Jane Mayer
July 3, 2006


LETTER FROM WASHINGTON about David Addington and the war on terror. At a Redskins game in December, Colin Powell commented privately on a recent report in the Times which revealed that Pres. Bush had secretly authorized the N.S.A. to eavesdrop on American citizens without first obtaining a warrant from the FISA court. “It's Addington,” Powell said. “He doesn't care about the Constitution.” He was referring to David S. Addington, Vice-President Cheney's chief of staff and his longtime legal adviser. Most Americans have never heard of him, but he has played a central role in shaping the Bush Administration's legal strategy for the war on terror. Known as the New Paradigm, this strategy rests on a reading of the Constitution that few legal scholars share-namely, that the President has the authority to disregard virtually all legal boundaries, if national security demands it. Under this framework, statutes prohibiting torture, secret detention, and warrantless surveillance have been set aside. Mentions Guantanamo Bay. Many constitutional experts question Addington's views on Presidential power. Mentions Arthur Shlesinger, Jr., and Bruce Fein. Richard Epstein warned of an impending constitutional crisis. Mentions Richard Shiffrin. Addington is a tall, bespectacled man of 49, with a trim gray beard. He has been an ally of Cheney's since the 1980s and is sometimes described as “Cheney's hit man.” Mentions Bradford Berenson. After September 11th (9/11), Addington offered legal certitude at a moment of great confusion. Mentions Alberto Gonzales. Addington was able to promote vast executive powers after 9/11. Mentions Steve Berry. Mentions Leonard Napolitano. Describes Addington's background and his conservative ideology. After graduating from Duke Law School, he got a job in the general counsel's office at the C.I.A. There, he strongly opposed the reform movements that followed Vietnam and Watergate. “He thought the Presidency was too weakened.” These views were shared by Cheney. Mentions the Iran-Contra scandal. Addington served as the Pentagon's General Counsel during the first Bush Administration. Once Cheney became Vice-President, Addington insured that virtually all important national-security documents were seen by the VP's office. Mentions William J. Haynes. After 9/11, Addington dominated the debate over how to frame the Administration's legal response to the attacks. On September 25th, the Justice Dept.'s Office of Legal Counsel issued a memo declaring that the Pres. had inherent constitutional authority to take whatever military actions he deemed necessary, not just in response to 9/11, but in the prevention of future attacks. Another memo sanctioned torture when the Pres. deems it necessary. Addington either drafted the memos himself or advised those who drafted them. On November 13, 2001, an executive order setting up special military commissions was issued under Bush's signature, stunning Powell, Condoleezza Rice, and the JAGs. Mentions Rear Admiral Donald Guter and Marine Major Dan Morii. Addington has fought to stem reform of other controversial aspects of the New Paradigm, such as the detention and interrogation of terror suspects. Discusses whether potentially innocent people have been detained indefinitely at Guantanamo. Addington has proved deft at outmaneuvering his critics. Describes his ruthless tactics. Describes the N.S.A.'s warrantless wiretapping program and how Cheney and Addington pressed the agency to engage in practices it thought were illegal. Fourteen prominent constitutional scholars recently wrote an open letter to Congress, claiming the N.S.A. surveillance program “appears…to violate existing law.” Discusses the lack of congressional oversight. Mentions signing statements, which allow Bush to disregard portions of laws passed by Congress. Fein argues that the Founding Fathers would have been shocked by what Cheney and Addington have done.

Jane Mayer, "The Hidden Power," The New Yorker, July 3, 2006, p. 44

Sorry this is so long, but I didn't want anything taken out of context.

What is it with this administration?? They're always picking people that have questionable backgrounds. Not that we're perfect (though some come close) but we at least want someone decent to run the country we live in. Is that too much to ask??