Submitted by arlenegloria on Sun, 06/20/2010 - 15:48

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David Swanson is the author of the new book "Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union" by Seven Stories Press.  To order or see tour schedule, fo to:  http://davidswanson.org/book.
Video of these remarks and the following Q&A posted at:
http://afterdowningstreet.org/rutherford

Bruce Dixon, Managing Editor of Black Agenda Report had this to say about Swanson's remarks: 'It's really that simple, explains David Swanson of After Downing Street at the Rutherford Institute recently. Bush and Cheney vastly and unilaterally expanded the powers of the White House. Failing even to try to pursue impeachment and criminal proceedings against the Bush-Cheney guaranteed that his successor would push all those limits even further. Even if we had tried and failed at impeachment, for the rest of Bush's term there would have been some restraint, and some limits defined for this administration too. Dixon's article links to 3 videos of Swanson's speech:  http://www.correntewire.com/failure_try_and_impeach_criminal_president_bush_guaranteed_us_lawless_president_obama 

Text of Remarks at the Rutherford Institute, June 16, 2010

by David Swanson

Who can tell me who said this and where they said it?

"I -- like any head of state -- reserve the right to act unilaterally if necessary to defend my nation." -- President Barack Obama, asserting the illegal and unconstitutional power to make war, in a Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in Oslo, Norway.

What about this one -- who and where?

"There may be a number of people who cannot be prosecuted for past crimes, but who nonetheless pose a threat to the security of the United States. . . . As I said, I am not going to release individuals who endanger the American people. . . . We must have a thorough process of periodic review, so that any prolonged detention is carefully evaluated and justified." -- President Barack Obama standing in front of the U.S. Constitution in the National Archives, a Constitution that reads "The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended."

OK. One more. Who said this and where and when?

"The blessing is not that God has promised to remove all obstacles and dangers. The blessing is that He is with us always."

--President Barack Obama in the Oval Office last night explaining how he'll stop the explosion that is pumping millions of gallons of oil into the ocean every day, and defend the separation of church and state. 

Something is missing, I think, from the recent debate over whether Nancy Pelosi blames George W. Bush too much. Pelosi chose not to impeach Bush. Had she pursued impeachment, Bush would have been a better president as long as he remained in office, and his successor -- whether Barack Obama or someone else -- would have been far less dangerous than Obama is right now.

That Bush and Dick Cheney had reshaped the powers of the presidency was not exactly a secret. In a December 31, 2007, editorial, the New York Times faulted Bush and Cheney for kidnapping innocent people, denying justice to prisoners, torturing, murdering, circumventing US and international law, spying in violation of the Fourth Amendment, and basing their actions on "imperial fantasies." If the list of crimes had been smaller, such as

Please visit American Chronicle to read more:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/163350