The New Republic

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Crisis and Command: A History of Executive Power from George Washington to George W. Bush By John Yoo (Kaplan, 544 pp., $29.95) Bomb Power: The Modern Presidency and the National Security State By Garry Wills (Penguin, 288 pp., $27.95)   I. READ MORE >>

These days, liberals don’t know whether to feel betrayed by or merely disappointed with Barack Obama. They have gone from decrying his willingness to remove the public option from his health care plan to worrying that, in the wake of Democrat Martha Coakley’s defeat in Massachusetts, he won’t get any plan through Congress. On other subjects, too, from Afghanistan to Wall Street, Obama has thoroughly let down his party’s left flank. READ MORE >>

The most important aspect of the Supreme Court's invalidation of campaign finance laws may be that it signals a new step into judicial activism. Of course, the slogan of "judicial restraint" is the central promise of Republican judicial nominees, but it's fairly clear that this idea only applies when liberals hold the majority on the Court. Linda Greenhouse has a terrific piece today: READ MORE >>

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The Constitution in 2020 Edited by Jack M. Balkin and Reva B. Siegel (Oxford University Press, 355 pp., $19.95) READ MORE >>

THE CONSTITUTION IN 2020 Edited by Jack M. Balkin and Reva B. Siegel (Oxford University Press, 355 pp., $19.95)   READ MORE >>

A tip from an informant led Detective Amando Rodriguez and Sergeant Diane Contreras to the stash house--actually a New York City apartment--which they had good reason to think contained a substantial haul of drugs. The suspicion was confirmed when they busted a man leaving the building with a kilo of cocaine in a black bag. The officers entered the building to stake out the apartment. That's when the carryout delivery woman arrived with an order for the stash house. Worried that she might inadvertently draw attention to their presence, the cops made a hasty decision to enlist her help. READ MORE >>

On Election Day, as the Supreme Court was debating the Bush administration's decision to fine TV networks for broadcasting "fleeting utterances" of the words "fuck" and "shit," an obscenity scandal in Britain cast light on the question before the justices: Can a single expletive actually be considered indecent? READ MORE >>

During every presidential campaign for the last two decades, liberals have predicted an apocalypse in the Supreme Court. In their dire visions, as many as four justices are always about to retire, meaning that a Republican victory would turn the court radically to the right and lead to the certain overturning of Roe v. Wade. READ MORE >>