Constitutional Crisis

It seems to me that we are coming up to a severe constitutional crisis.

We have a president who lied to get us into the Iraq war. A president who lied by blaming torture at Abu Ghraib on some "bad apples" in the lower ranks of the military. Most seriously of all, we have a President who, if Sabin Willet is to be believed (Doing Battle with Due Process, Boston Globe, June 23, 2008: A15) is lying about former prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. The President claims that after their release, by the administration, they have "returned to the fight." According to Willet, the most that two of these former detainees have done is write or speak about their treatment in the prison at Guantanamo. Is this President really telling us that the Pen is mightier than the Sword.

How do we deal with a President who is a habitual liar? The Democrats in this election year have no stomach for impeachment, but to allow this presidency of deceit to continue is unacceptable. The President must do something else unconstitutional: he must set up a bipartisan council of Presidential advisors who will be responsible for vetting the veracity of all his utterances -- preferably before he makes them.

In this way, we can be assured that any policy initiatives undertaken by the current administration will be based upon verified facts rather than on the lies that have, up till now, been the hallmark of this administration.

Sent to Boston Globe