The debate last night was to shore up the candidates’ base rather than to sway any undecided voters since the questions solicited responses from the candidates campaign repertoire and, with only a few exceptions, gave the voters any new insights.
However, the exceptions are noteworthy, and in the case of Governor Palin, also frightening. With a wink and a nod she proposed to further muddy the waters between the designated roles of the executive and the legislative branches of government. Under the Bush Administration we have seen the continued rise of the Imperial Presidency with its’ flagrant disregard for the Constitution, and we have seen the Vice Presidency develop into an enforcement arm of executive privilege. Now Governor Palin wants to expand this strong arm role as Vice President even more. Palin envisions a greater, and perhaps pervasive, legislative role as Vice President with “…more authority given to the vice president if that vice president so chose to exert it in working with the Senate and making sure we are supportive of the President’s policies..”
But As For Me…
There is a reason that our forefathers, after experiencing the imperial rule of Great Britain, chose to separate the three branches of government by specific duties and checks so that power would not be vested in one entity, or any one person. Vice President Cheney, during Bush’s tenure, assumed and expanded his role to one of a defacto government further blurring the lines of power and sovereignty . Now Palin proposes to continue this disemboweling of the Constitution by the Republicans.
