Obama on Signing statements; Then and Now (Congress, abuse, constitutional)

[sanrene]

Listen to him bloviating about signing statements, he won't use them, unconstitutional, complaining how bush used them as an end around congress.

YouTube - Obama on Presidential Signing Statements

But now that he is president, why, they're just so, so convenient;

At the same time, after Democrats criticized former President George W. Bush’s signing statements, Mr. Obama issued one of his own, declaring five provisions in the spending bill to be unconstitutional and nonbinding, including one aimed at preventing punishment of whistleblowers.

Presidents have employed signing statements to reject provisions of a bill without vetoing the entire legislation. Democrats and some Republicans have complained that Mr. Bush abused such statements by declaring that he would ignore congressional intent on more than 1,200 sections of bills, easily a record. Mr. Obama has ordered a review of his predecessor’s signing statements and said he would rein in the practice.

“We’re having a repeat of what Democrats bitterly complained about under President Bush,” said Sen. Arlen Specter (R., Pa.), who drafted legislation to nullify Mr. Bush’s signing statements.

My, how quiet the Left is these days.