The buck stops where?

When one thinks of abuse of presidential power, the mind automatically shifts to Richard Nixon and his enemies list.

Nixon was the most obsessed of the modern presidents regarding secrecy and an empirical sense of entitlement. Bush is closing in on the crown as the king of the power obsessed. However, Harry Truman as I understand it felt it was within his role as commander in chief to force the steel mills to remain productive during the Korean War. He was then repudiated by the Supreme Court by a 6-3 vote. The country was also not in a state of war at that time. Truman, despite his strengths left office with the lowest approval rating in presidential history at 28% Moral of the story: don't overreach.

Although Al-Qaeda represents a threat to this country, we are currently not in a state of war. The right however, is operating under that premise. Their War on Terror is infinite, hence the president should have infinite powers to deal in this war. What will their feeling be if the president elect in 2008 is not one who bends along their ideological lines? Will they still want a President Feingold or Hillary Clinton to wield these powers to detain, torture and spy? Is this only Bush's war?

- Just a few observations.