Demagogue

Yesterday, President Bush said that the possibility of an avian flu outbreak in the United States may justify the Congress giving him greater power. I enjoyed Bush's surprisingly candid explanation. According to CNN, the president stated:

"I didn't want the president telling me (when I was governor) how to be the commander in chief of the Texas Guard. But Congress needs to take a look at circumstances that may need to vest the capacity of the president to move beyond that debate. And one such catastrophe or one such challenge could be an avian flu outbreak."

In other words, for Dubya, strengthening a president's authority is a bad idea -- unless he happens to be the president.