Executive Leadership a Must: Signing Statements

Signing Statements -- the bane of Constitutionalists. With the whisk of a pen, with a taut paragraph, or series of directives, the President of the United States can all but rewrite legislation which he signs into law.

This practice is unprecedented and clearly unconstitutional, to the extent that the President takes the liberty of tailoring legislation to ends not expressed or intended in the original bill.

If Presidents are still engaging in the practice without any criticism or legal challenge, then why not take advantage of this political sleight of hand to implement necessary cost-cutting measures?

Of course, this abstraction would serve best as an academic exercise. The rule of law must be respected -- but to the extent that the President can make compelling cases for the constitutional necessity of such an unconstitutional method, to that extent therefore would the President be able to protect our rights, secure our borders, and above all discharge the debt weighing heavily on this nation, threatening our future, and undermining our capacities to lead and defend ourselves today.