Wow--The Libertarians have something useful to contribute--

[Jackpine Radical]

From Reason Online..
http://www.reason.com/news/show/130094.html

Obama Should Swear Off Executive Privilege
Keeping his staff transparent and accountable would send a strong message about open government.

Radley Balko | November 14, 2008

President-elect Barack Obama has been fairly critical of the Bush administration's secrecy, lack of accountability, and executive power grabs over the last eight years. And rightly so. To his credit, Obama has made some early gestures to rolling back some of the power claimed by President Bush and Vice President Cheney.

One way Obama could send a clear message about the type of service he'll expect from the people who will staff his administration is to make an early vow forbidding any of his staff from claiming executive privilege should they later be asked to testify before Congress, in a deposition, or in any other legal setting. The one obvious exception would be if someone were asked to testify about matters classified for national security purposes.

Executive privilege is the idea that a president should be able to shield his staff from congressional or legal inquiries because staffers who know they could potentially be subpoenaed may not feel as free and open to give the president candid advice. This is nonsense.

The president's political appointees are public servants. Their salaries are paid by taxpayers. What they do and say on the public payroll should be accessible to the public, to the courts, and to congressional oversight. If a presidential aide fears that advice he gives the president could subject him to legal action or congressional subpoena down the road, he shouldn't give advice that's of questionable legality or that's ethically dubious in the first place. It really is that simple. If the president wants to hire a personal attorney who can give him personal legal advice that's protected by attorney-client privilege, that's fine. He should pay that attorney out of his own pocket, or out of campaign funds.

[BumRushDaShow]

1. I expect he'd dial it down a number of notches

but won't totally give it up.

[phantom power]

2. I'd actually like to see Obama make the following speech...

The speech would start with a list of all the privileges he theoretically could assume, based on the last 8 years of bogus "unitary executive" arguments from BushCo. Just to make it crystal clear to all the slow Republicans why accruing such power is a bad idea -- your favorite party isn't going to stay in power forever, Virginia.

Then, he would announce the rollback of all those privileges under his administration. And explain how all those privileges were unconstitutional, and harmful to the balance of the three branches of govt.

[Jackpine Radical]

3. I think that's a beautiful approach.

I wonder if he'll see it the same way.