Presidents, in wartime, tend to think they're above the law; commanders-in-chief who rule absolutely. President Lincoln abolished habeas corpus (the right to a trial) during the Civil War -- clearly unconstitutional, but he did it. President Franklin Roosevelt imprisoned Japanese-Americans -- U.S. citizens -- in concentration camps during World War II -- clearly unconstitutional, but he did it. Richard Nixon probably put the case most clearly in an interview with David Frost back in 1977. Frost: "So ... what ... you're saying is that there are certain situations ... where the president can decide that it's in the best interests...
