Free Republic

Scholars criticize 'imperial' presidency Saturday, September 13, 2003By Steven HarmonThe Grand Rapids Press ALLENDALE -- Thanks to a pliant Congress and an apathetic public, President George W. Bush has expanded the imperial presidency, perhaps placing the United States in a more vulnerable position than before the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. That was the general view of panelists at a conference on the presidency Friday, hosted by Grand Valley State University's Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies. By running roughshod over world opinion in the runup to the Iraq war, Bush now faces world isolation as the occupation has gotten messy,...

Campaigning in former President Reagan's hometown before last week's Illinois primary, GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum asserted that he was the only candidate "who stands on the pillars of what Ronald Reagan built as the modern Republican Party."Speaking in the shadow of a statue of Reagan, Santorum proclaimed: "Let the voice of Reagan be heard across this land."And it isn't just Santorum: During the GOP presidential debates, Reagan's name was invoked nearly 250 times by the GOP field.But many historians argue that if Reagan had a true heir, he or she might raise taxes, compromise with Democrats and put aside...