George Bush and Democracy

The best story I've seen so far on how George Bush' presidency has eroded democracy's checks and balances. Unfortunately it is The Economist premium content.

Mr Bush came to office arguing that restrictions on presidential authority, especially since Watergate, had harmed decision-making. The implication is that good government requires a certain period of privacy in which officials can thrash out policies. The public should judge only the result. In 2002, his vice-president, Dick Cheney, said, “I have repeatedly seen an erosion of the powers and the ability of the president of the United States to do his job.” He said he and Mr Bush had talked about the need to “pass on our offices in better shape than we found them to our successors.” They have succeeded, after a fashion, but at a heavy cost.