I heard a pair of Johns Hopkins professors on the radio this evening who have a new book coming out about how presidents in this country have become "monocractic." I've never heard that term before, but it fits W. He doesn't care what Congress or the courts have to say, he's the C-in-C and he's got the power.

They made an interesting point about the dilemma faced by people like Senator Rockafeller who received classified info about a program that was probably illegal. If I understood their argument, Rockafeller could have spilled his guts on the floor of the Senate and still be immune from prosecution because anything said on the floor of either house of Congress is absolutely priviliged. There can be no criminal prosecution for anything a legislator says there.

Interesting thought, but it doesn't really cure Rockafeller's dilemma. If he was wrong about the illegality of Bush's actions, then his speaking out on the floor would accomplish nothing good and could be very bad for the country.