Column
from U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
Advice for the Next President
Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel
June 22, 2008
An inaugural address, set
against the stately backdrop of the U.S. Capitol, is always a stirring
moment, history in the making. Some of our country’s most soaring
rhetoric has come from presidents who seized this moment to remind us,
in good times and in bad, of the extraordinary strength of our nation
and its people.
All presidents have uttered
the same oath of office, but after that, their remarks on Inauguration
Day have been as different as the eras in which they lived. Sadness
permeated Abraham Lincoln’s second address near the close of the
Civil War; Franklin Roosevelt rallied Americans, in the depths of the
Great Depression, by telling them that they had nothing to fear but
fear itself; and John Kennedy famously exhorted his fellow Americans
to “ask not what your country can do for you — ask what
you can do for your country.”
Some might say it’s
too soon to think about our nation’s next inaugural address. After
all, we don’t yet know who will deliver it. But that’s just
the point — no matter who delivers that address, there are some
things that must be said, and some commitments that must be made to
the American people.
When the next president approaches
the podium in January, he inevitably will have ideas about how to address
the nation’s problems and how to move this country forward. But
while an inaugural address is a moment to look ahead, whoever is elected
in November will have to acknowledge what has come before. That’s
because the next president won’t be following on the heels of
just any administration; he will arrive in the wake of a series of historic
abuses of executive power.
Again and again, the current
administration has grabbed for power by ignoring or misinterpreting
the law. When the president claimed that he could wiretap innocent Americans
without a warrant, he asserted one of the most intrusive government
powers imaginable. Just as jarring was the administration’s contempt
for the fundamental principle of habeas corpus, which the Supreme Court
rebuked in its recent decision supporting Guantanamo detainees’
right to challenge their detention in U.S. courts. The administration
also has found other ways around the law, including its improper use
of signing statements.
Many Americans rightly expect
that the new president will abide by the law. But we can’t take
that for granted. Americans deserve a guarantee from the next president
that the abuses we’ve witnessed over the past eight years won’t
happen again. The 44th president of the United States, whoever he is,
must renounce the Bush administration’s abuses of executive power
and make clear that his administration will uphold the rule of law.
This isn’t the only
subject where the new president should give us concrete answers about
what he would do in office, to be sure, but it is among the most urgent.
Where he stands on executive power goes beyond policy and politics and
speaks to his respect for the Constitution itself.
The oath presidents take
on Inauguration Day, moments before they address the nation, is a simple
one. It is only 35 words long, but it delivers its message loud and
clear. “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully
execute the office of President of the United States; and will, to the
best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend, the Constitution of
the United States.” This oath was so important to the founders
that they included it in the Constitution. More than ever, we need a
president who will uphold that oath and respect the rule of law and
the checks and balances that are a basic part of our constitutional
system.
Each inaugural address is
rooted in its own time, and the next president’s will be too.
Some reflect the nation’s mood and some seek to change it, with
words that seem to put our dreams — for our nation and ourselves
— within reach. The speech we hear in January, I hope, will be
many things: honest, hopeful, inspirational. But above all, I hope it
will be candid about the need to reverse the Bush administration’s
abuse of executive power and to uphold the presidential oath of office
that our framers crafted so simply and so well.
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