Constitutional defense

Be sure to read this stirring piece by The Nation's Katrina vanden Huevel, who argues that the time has come "to make the defense of the Constitution a national theme for all candidates in this year's electoral contests." A short taste:

As we have relearned in recent years - in instances as diverse as the Iraq War, the response to Hurricane Katrina, and Medicare reform - a President who can suppress "unwanted" information breeds dangerous incompetence, and a government that acts on bad information becomes a bad government.

The actions of the Executive branch have a real and powerful impact on our lives. We simply cannot afford a "unitary executive" who silences independent voices, lets politics determine science, threatens our first amendment rights, withholds critical information from even enforcement personnel, and elevates personal loyalty to him above the duty to inform the public.

I couldn't agree more.