G W BUSH "bad intelligence"

[revelarts]

Rev, I feel your pain. Yes in a perfect world the President would ask for a formal declaration of war from the Congress but unfortunately, Congress has determined that it is better to abdicate its responsibilities to the Executive Branch and its many departments and bureaus and after the fact either take credit for success or scream about failure. This is not only a sad reality when it comes to war and other foreign policy measures, it's true for most domestic policy as well. After a Democrat controlled Congress voted down the Dream Act the President told a group of immigration activists that he wasn't a king and couldn't just sign a law removing the risk of deportation for minor illegal aliens. A few months later he did just that and signed DACA into law. On the GOP side, the Republican controlled Congress has steadfastly refused to do its one Constitutionally proscribed duty, passing a damn budget! I don't think that the current situation has evolved from overly aggressive Presidents seizing unconstitutional powers but rather the result of feckless career politicians in Congress desiring not to be held accountable for anything that could put a crimp in their fundraising efforts. Hard term limits would go a long way to solving many of the problems you have brought up.

Term limits would probably help, i'd agree.
But it'd still be money and influence in the game spoiling the pot. Notice Obama's 1st speech after he left office. It wasn't to an immigrants group, or Black lives matter, or the Muslim brotherhood. it was to a Wall St. group that gave him a fat check... for services rendered maybe?

Congressional term limits without the ability to collect fat checks or seats in any company that they tangentially could have influenced the fortunes of. Not sure how the logistics would work on that but i suspect FAR fewer people would be running for office without the perks of and after office.

As far as presidents seizing powers, I'd have to disagree a bit there. Truman SEIZED the power to go into Korea on non existent legal pretense, of a "police action". Johnson and Nixon sent troops into Vietnam and Nixon secretly bombed Cambodia for like a year. When caught and called on it he fought the congress on even producing the generous "war powers act" CLAIMING that he already had those powers. He vetoed it and the congress had the votes to override. Other presidents did the same, with only a few congress people challenging the acts, some by offering impeachment papers that went nowhere others by filing suit that dead-ended in Courts that sadly didn't want to act against a sitting president. Dick Chenney expressly said that he wanted the president to exercise MORE powers than he legally had. the Sad thing at this point is it's been done so many times now that people seem to think "its NORMAL" or even good that a president can fire missiles, drop bombs or send troops into foreign countries AT will at his singular discretion.

People crossing the boarder and setting up house in the U.S. is normal by the same standard. But somehow many people see the problem with the illegality and want it stopped. The fact that something has been allowed to go on for some time doesn't make it legal, or mean it's a good idea.
Obama's DACCA and his drone strikes to 17+ different countries, Military actions to oust Qaddafi, continuing many of the Bush era spying on citizens among other things, all unconstitutional.

I'm not looking for perfection but unless "we the people" can get somewhat on the same page constitution wise it's not going to matter if it's a democrat or republican president. either way they'll have defacto dictatorial powers.