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Bush Administration actions in violation of Constitutionally mandated processes of government and infringements on Constitutionally guaranteed rights have set dangerous precedents in making the Constitution superfluous and irrelevant to governance. If the Constitution is to be rescued from irrelevance, if it is to me more than "just a piece of paper" to be venerated but not followed, the Congress and the new President must work diligently for its restoration. There are members of both parties in Congress who are eager to see an end to excesses of "signing statement" and "executive orders" that contravene legislation and even the Constitution. President Obama must specifically denounce the Bush doctrine of "unitary executive", which has no place in our Republic. The Congress as well needs to begin referencing all legislation to specific Constitutional provisions. Whether Constitutional restoration is accomplished by bipartisan efforts or just one party really doesn't matter. What does matter is that the charter document of the federal government, which legally authorizes and empowers it, is respected and followed. The alternative is a downward spiral toward tyranny.
