Imbalance of Power
Just how imperial can the commander in chief be during a time of crisis?
To Robert George, a professor of jurisprudence at Princeton University, questions circling the limits of executive prerogative are less large-"c" constitutional issues than small-"c" ones. By that, he means that these questions tend to be addressed less through close parsing of what the Constitution says about presidential prerogative (which is quite broad and vague) than through the judgments of the court of public opinion. "In the current context," George says, "the public seems to think the president is doing what is necessary."
Polls back that up, but George cautions that such verdicts must stand up against the test of history: "If it turns out this power was used in an abusive way--say, for political reasons--we will think back on it as we do on the way we abused executive power in World War II when we used the War Relocation Authority [to intern Japanese-Americans]. It will be seen as a great stain on our constitutional record. It all depends on whether the power is used responsibly. And," adds George, "the temptation to use it wrongly is very high."
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