[nathanbedford]

In a way I think it is the unspecified, amorphous nature of the position which vests power. Press reports say that Klain will report directly to the president which carries always the ominous likelihood that the man with the president's ear acts as his spokesman, especially behind closed doors where it counts.

Consider the career of Harry Hopkins under Franklin Roosevelt, the immense scope of his power and its generally unspecified nature. Roosevelt liked it that way and I suspect Obama does as well so that he can play Klain off against Susan Rice (to whom he is also to report) and other apparatchiks and send messages through one or the other to various federal agencies and players for which Obama is not personally accountable.

I think it will depend on the force of personalities and who can win the infighting. One thing is very clear, Klain is not weak in the ego department and one might expect to see blood on the carpet in the Oval Office as well as in our hospital rooms.

[Jacquerie]

. . . send messages through one or the other to various federal agencies and players for which Obama is not personally accountable.

That is Klain's precise purpose. It reflects a fundamental corruption of the executive branch.

The framers argued long and hard over the structure of this new office. They considered multiple execs, privy councils and rejected them all in favor of one man, a Unitary Executive. One man was to be responsible for the executive branch.

By this, we avoided the possibility of a president who took on the prerogatives of a king. English kings could not be held responsible for crown mistakes, but their ministers could and often paid for them with their lives.

Unlike kings, the American President was not to be unimpeachable. Unlike kings, the President alone was to be responsible for the executive branch.

So where are we now? Nothing is allowed to be Obama's fault. Not only is our president unimpeachable and not held responsible for anything, even his ministers (Lois Lerner, Eric Holder, etc.) are untouchable as well!!!

This is constitutional corruption of the highest order that has no precedent in American or English history. It is precursor to an American mindset that will soon openly accept a police state.

[Political Junkie Too]

In a way I think it is the unspecified, amorphous nature of the position which vests power. 

I think your entire premise is wrong. Americans don't want a so-called czar, they want their Constitutional cabinet officers to actually do their specified jobs, and do them well.

The only reason for an unconstitutional czar is to bypass Senate advice and consent.

-PJ