Today on Uncommon Knowledge, the author of Crisis and Command, John Yoo. Who first demonstrated the flexibility and capaciousness of the powers the Constitution conferred on the president? The very first president. The line of precedents, Yoo insists, runs from the first George W. to the most recent.

One thing that Washington decided right away is that he was not going to be a prime minister; he was going to be a president. He did not think he worked for Congress and he did not think he represented a majority party in Congress. [Washington] wanted to maintain the independent stature of his office. . . . I think President [Bush] used the independent stature of the office to react to a direct attack on the United States. The President already had the authority under the Constitution [to do so], but he used Congressional authorization as a way to build political support.

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