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THE COMING CONSTITUTIONAL SHOWDOWN. I didn't manage to get in on yesterday's orgy of electoral predictions, but I do agree with AEI's most honest analyst, Norman Ornstein, as to what will happen when Democrats take the House: a showdown between the White House and Congress over executive privilege. Dick Cheney has already said he would "probably not" appear if he is subpoenaed.John Holbo thinks the crisis would take the form of:
2-years of semi-successful executive branch stonewalling, followed by Bush proving himself his father�s son in at least one way � by handing out a bunch of Christmas pardons, meaning the guilty are never brought to justice, and even the truth about what happened is never officially investigated to the fullest extent. And the Constitutional framework is, in this way, brutalized in one final way even as the door hits Bush�s ass on the way out.Maybe so, but I think it is more likely that the House will threaten to cut off funding unless Bush cooperates, he will refuse and try to appeal directly to the American people, and a game of congressional chicken will ensue. Who will jump out of the car first?
--Blake Hounshell
