Bush to American people, "Whateva, I do what I want"

Selected excerpts from Bush's press conference today. All quotes are taken from the Washington Post transcript.

As president and commander in chief, I have the constitutional responsibility and the constitutional authority to protect our country. Article 2 of the Constitution gives me that responsibility and the authority necessary to fulfill it.

Bush is referring to the Oath of Office, which actually says that it is the President's duty "to the best of [his] Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution." He failed to disclose what he has done during his term in office to "form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, [...] promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity" (from the preamble to the Constitution).

The Patriot Act tore down the legal and bureaucratic wall that kept law enforcement and intelligence authorities from sharing vital information about terrorist threats.

Apparently, the Patriot Act also tore down the legal and bureaucratic boundaries that stopped the government from wiretapping American citizens who may have any ties to terrorism, capturing them, sending them overseas to be tortured by countries which support terrorism and holding them indefinitely without charges or access to legal council (ahem).

Other key points:

• Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11
• Senators who question the damage done to our civil liberties over the last five years will be the ones responsible when Bush ignores memos like "Al Quaeda determined to strike in US" the next time
• Cutting taxes for the richest 1% of Americans while cutting programs which benefit the poorest 25% is a "wise" use of tax dollars

When will we stop equating Iraq with Al Quaeda and self-proclaimed piety with righteousness?

Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else. -Teddy Roosevelt