Day of infamy

FDR famously characterized December 7, 1941, as a date that would live in infamy because of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor that day. By the same token, Barack Obama’s willful attack on the Constitution marks today as a date that will live in infamy because of the president’s willful violation of the limits on his power. (“Infamy” is the word that Peter Wehner attaches to Obama’s forthcoming action.)

A certain novelty adds to the disgrace of the president’s assault on the Constitution. Obama has himself repeatedly made the constitutional case against what he is about to do. Among the videos compiling excerpts of Obama’s statements making the case against what he is about to do is the one below put together by National Review.

Has a president ever willfully violated the limits on his authority placed on him by the Constitution? Has a president ever done so for narrow partisan purposes? I believe that the willful excess and low motives that attend Obama’s action make it unprecedented in our history. Obama has delivered us to some kind of a nadir.

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