My worry isn't so much the powers the president has given himself to use in case of an emergency as it is how this administration defines an emergency in the first place.

Sent by Liz Lewis | 3:45 PM ET | 06-15-2007

Our standing president and his administration have grossly damaged the integrity of his office in the name of "security", but in reality have used these extreme and ultimately unlawful acts to extend their power past the limits that the founding fathers would have ever accepted or allowed. I hope that the integrity of the office and the country can be restored, by judicial or congressional actions, or through future elections by a better educated population.

Sent by Norm Samuelson | 4:16 PM ET | 06-15-2007

Whoa! The idea that Pres. Bush has expanded his emergency powers without reference to either Congress, the Courts, or the People ("they need no explanation") sounds way too much like what Hilter did in 1934 in Germany and what other would-be dictators do when nobody is looking! When will someone in a position of elected trust take constitutional steps to do something about this man's attempts to undermine our democratic way of life? This is supposed to be a constitutional government "of the people, by the people and for the people." What it is increasingly looking like is a government "of Bush, by Bush and for Bush."

Sent by James A. Harrelson | 4:32 PM ET | 06-15-2007

The expansion of the executive branch's power has worried me ever since the Vietnam-era War Powers Act. Is it possible we Americans are afflicted with some innate monarchical complex dating back to the beginning(many early Americans wanted to make G. Washington president for life)? The executive branch has far too much power for our own good.

Sent by jordan shelton | 9:56 PM ET | 06-15-2007

So many causes for concern here.

Certainly, I share the concerns about unchecked powers, but let me raise another one: why would we think that the federal government is capable of handing a major disaster anyway?

It is the combination of power grabbing and incompetence that is most frightening to me.

Sent by Jason Osder | 9:02 AM ET | 06-16-2007

Does this give the President the power to extend his time in office if something happens before a new President takes office?

Sent by Reggienald Jackson | 9:42 AM ET | 06-17-2007

I feel that President Bush is directing the presidency towards a dictatorship. He has, on at least two occasions, Referenced a disdain for the Constitution, the true law of the land, and flagrantly violated the Oath of Office he swore to uphold and defend when elected both times? To me these are treasonous acts. Why should he tell us anything if it is his intention to destroy us?

Sent by Robert Green | 10:06 AM ET | 06-17-2007

I'm all for military tribunals... for the members of the current administration. The grounds? Subborning the constitution and treason. 911=inside job.

Sent by Zontak Crondar | 12:05 PM ET | 06-17-2007

In 1972 President Nixon signed into law by Executive Order, The National Emergency Preparedness Act, which combined all previous laws plus added a few provisions such as: Any action deemed a threat to national security, be it economic, an act of war, or a natural disaster, gives a president full powers for six months without consulting Congress. The federal government at the request of the president can legally confiscate any & all property, take over banking, commerce, transportation, corporations, communications, the media, & put any legal or illegal resident into camps who are deemed a threat to this nation in any way, shape, or form. The NRA will like this one: The federal government can also confiscate all guns. The government can also freeze or confiscate all checking, savings, & investment accounts.

I found this out in 1976 when the plans for globalization first came to my attention. Since, I have wondered which president would implement this law, and President Bush is probably "the" one to do it. I figure that one of the reasons he isn't all that concerned by his poll numbers or the way his actions while in office have affected not only this nation but the Republican party as well, is because he does intend to implement all or part of the National Emergency Act prior to the expiration of his term in office. Congress will be dissolved and if he does it in the fall of 2008 there will be no national elections.

Sent by Geri Britt | 1:20 PM ET | 06-17-2007

Wow, I can't overstate how concerning this is. And I can not believe the press covers Paris Hilton more than this very dangerous man.

Sent by Apple | 11:41 AM ET | 06-28-2007

I just listened to the interview today with Mr. Savage. I'm saddened that most Americans are blindly oblivious to they way this administration has run roughshod over the Constituiton. Clearly Cheney is the real puppet-master behind all of this. WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE???!!! In addition to defecating on our system of checks and balances, this administration has turned our huge budget surplus into an enormous deficit, destroyed our reputation around the world, turned it's back on our own citizens in dire need, and compunded lie after lie to start an unnecessary war - all for selfish power-tripping reasons. Yet most Americans don't seem to care. I am ashamed to be an American.

Sent by bob tipton | 2:07 PM ET | 09-05-2007

I'm not sure that "most Americans do not care". It seems mostly a problem of not knowing what to do about it. Who do we turn to and how would its reversal take place? Especially since the Supreme Court now appears to be in the hands of judges with strong leanings toward increased executive power. Until recently, Congress was complicit, abdicating any responsibility in providing a check on executive power. It is immensely ironic that Bush keeps justifying the Iraq war as creating "democracy" in Iraq while at the same time he and his administration continue to erode our own democratic principles and processes at home.

I would love to see each presidential candidate discuss/debate their views on executive power/privilege and how they see the role of the executive branch relative to the other two branches; a discussion on the structure and function of our government based on checks and balances. Now that, to me, is a real campaign issue that would help me select my choice for the next president.

Sent by Steve | 3:13 AM ET | 09-06-2007

I have long thought that the war Mr. Bush initiated was simply a smoke screen to divert attention from his power grab. The major media helped in this distraction by focusing on the military actions of the administration while parroting administration buzz phrases to manipulate the citizenry by fanning the flames of fear.

I sincerely believe that Mr. Bush will simply declare a "national emergency" and deem it too dangerous to hold elections during a "time of war" and, at that time, implement all aspects of the The National Emergency Preparedness Act.I fear our country is fast becoming a police state, with nothing we can do to stop it.

Sent by Allan Sustare | 7:28 AM ET | 09-06-2007

We're most likely very far from becoming a "police state"! Federal funding and support for police departments and law enforcement agencies has been drastically cut over the past few years. Ironic, during a time of so-called "homeland security".

What we may be "fast becoming" is just the opposite....anarchy and chaos without clear leadership and commitment to our democratic heritage (and its future); the "haves" vs. the "have-nots".

Have the policies of the Bush-Cheney administration played into the hands of terrorist organizations dedicated to destroying our democratic principles?

The supreme irony....their policies for the "war on terror" may actually be causing us to lose that "war".

Sent by Steve | 11:47 AM ET | 09-07-2007

We the People need to stand up and do something about this before it is too late. I will bow to no one one, and we shouldn't have to bow before Emperor Bush.
We the People cannot allow a dictatorship of any kind to happen. The signs are clearly in front of us. Impeach Bush NOW!!!!!

Sent by A concerend American | 2:48 PM ET | 09-07-2007

It is insanity to trust any human being with as much power as the current administration claims to have. To maintain such trust translates to our nation being changed from a democratic republic to a plutocracy or worse. It is not a declaration of independence; it is a declaration of ignorance.

It is common knowledge that "all" people cannot be trusted with too much power. There are no exceptions. The temptation to spy where one has no right to, to steal when no one is paying attention, and the desire to increase one's power are too great for people to handle without a mechanism for oversight in place.

The rules that existed to restrict executive power have greater wisdom than the foolish fairy tale that there is one man among all of us who can be trusted with such power. I wouldn't trust my mother or father with as much power as Bush and Cheney are claiming for themselves.

If this was a better nation and Bush and Cheney made such claims of executive power the Sargent At Arms would laugh in their faces and trott them off to prison.

When did Americans become so immature that they would allow such unfounded arrogance determine any political strategy. The idea that the democrats are just biding their time until it is their turn to wield such power, reveals a depraved perspective rather than a principled one.

I don't recall giving my permission for a silent coup in our nation. I haven't lost my common sense that tells me that neither the president or vice president deserves that much trust. They are not saints, geniuses, or father figures; they are men like all other men who require oversight and checks and balances to prevent them from indulging in the temptations to which humans are prone.

Sent by gc_wall | 7:48 PM ET | 09-14-2007

But this is the president that the majority has put into power,and will continue to do so.This is what the majority wants and in democracy,the majority wins.Those who think otherwise are just a minority.Thus, the current administration really potrayed the indifferent American majority. They get what they voted for, so do not blame the president.

Sent by nawawi mohmad | 4:29 AM ET | 12-07-2007

Well that would be true if the president actually won the first election. And I would argue that the actions of this administration are largely undemocratic, in addition it may have been a majority vote in 2004, but that doesn't mean the tail wasn't wagging the dog. Democracy? I should hardly think so.

Sent by E | 2:43 PM ET | 12-07-2007