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The Unbearable Complacence of Being

By Jack M. Balkin

Assume that your child has come down with a dread disease, perhaps fatal, but perhaps "only" likely to leave him/her with severe problems for the rest of his/her life. You hear tell that there is new drug about to enter the market, on January 20, 2009, but it's being held up until then by bureaucratic procedures, NOT by any need to subject it to further safety tests, etc. Might you not be more than a bit upset, maybe even angry at such mindless bureaucratism when your beloved child's future is at stake? Would a single one of you say, "well, procedures are procedures, and I recognize that nothing can be done until January 20. I only hope that my child doesn't die before then? This is, of course, meant as a rhetorical question. So now,

let's talk about what I presume is our beloved country, and the trouble it is in. A full 90% of the country believe we are on the wrong track. Never in the history of presidential polling has there been such widespread disapproval of a president or such little approval. The "recovery," such as it is or will be, is being led by Gordon Brown, as Nobel Prize-winning economist (sorry, Mark) Paul Krugman pointed out in today's column, and most certainly not by the Bush Administration and Henry Paulson.

So I floated an idea, THAT DOESN'T REQUIRE A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT, LET ALONE A CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. Every American who is, shall we say, discontented with the quality of "leadership" being demonstrated by George W. Bush and Dick Cheney should sign a petition asking (or demanding) that Cheney resign on November 5, 2008, to be replaced by the winner of the previous-day's election, who will be promptly confirmed by the Congress under the 25th Amendment, at which time George W. Bush will resign. For the life of me, I can't see any objection to this, unless one really thinks it's fine and dandy to George W. Bush continue to be the "go-to-guy" for foreign leaders, bankers, etc., with regard to solemn commitments by the United States in order to help resolve our crisis. If it were a child at stake, none of you would accept bureaucratic mumbo-jumbo as a sufficient reason to deprive her of the needed drug. But if it's only the country that is desperate for new leadership, then it's apparently all right to wait until January 20, 2009, FOR NO OTHER REASON THAN THE TEXT OF OUR CONSTITUTION. BUT THE TEXT DOESN'T SAY THE NEW PRESIDENT IS PREVENTED FROM TAKING OFFICE EARLIER, SHOULD CONSTITUTIONAL PROCEDURES, SUCH AS THOSE THAT I HAVE OUTLINED, ARE FOLLOWED. The argument that we have to wait 10 weeks so that Barack Obama or John McCain can figure out who should be the Secretary of the Treasurey is puerile. Perhaps they don't know whom they want for Secretary of Agriculture or Transportation. Okay, we'll wait.

NOTE TO THE PUNDITS WHO SOMETIMES LURK ON THIS SITE: WHY DOESN'T ONE OF YOU ACTUALLY POINT OUT TO YOUR READERS, WHEN YOU SAY THAT "OUR SYSTEM IS BROKEN," THAT THERE IS ACTUALLY A CONSTITUTIONAL SOLUTION TO AT LEAST ONE OF OUR PROBLEMS, IF ONLY WE HAVE THE WIT TO SEE IT AND STOP BEING SO GOD-DAMNED COMPLACENT THAT GOD WILL TAKE CARE OF THE UNITED STATES. EVEN IF THERE IS A GOD, THERE IS NO REASON TO BELIEVE THAT WE ARE HIS/HER/ITS/THEIR SPECIAL FAVORITE.

Full post as published by Balkinization on October 13, 2008 (boomark / email).

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