From Bush to Obama: Presidential Power Out of Hand? - John Dean

Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2009/09/15/Whistle-Blowers_A_Conversation_with_Ellsberg_and_Dean

John Dean, former White House Counsel to President Richard Nixon, discusses the "excessive" amount of executive power made available to the U.S. presidency by former President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. He also examines the Obama administration's use of enhanced national security power.

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What lessons do the Vietnam War, Watergate, and the "war on terror" offer about the abuse of power by the executive branch in times of national crisis?

Join Daniel Ellsberg, the RAND strategist whose leak of the Pentagon Papers helped bring down the Nixon presidency and end the Vietnam War, and John Dean, White House counsel to Nixon and later a key whistle-blower on the Watergate scandal, for a conversation about the perils -- then and now -- of presidential overreach and excessive secrecy.

The event, sponsored by the Open Society Institute National Security and Human Rights Campaign, comes on the eve of the U.S. premiere of the feature documentary The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers. Filmmakers Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith present clips from the film.

Ann Beeson, executive director for U.S. Programs at the Open Society Institute and former associate legal director at the ACLU, moderates the discussion with Ellsberg and Dean. - Open Society Institute

John Dean was White House Counsel to President Richard Nixon and became deeply involved in events leading up to the Watergate burglaries and the subsequent Watergate scandal cover-up. Despite his initial involvement, Dean became a key witness for the prosecution and was the first administration official to accuse Nixon of direct involvement with Watergate and the resulting cover-up. His accusations were confirmed when the secret White House tape recordings were made public. Dean's cooperation with the investigation led to a reduction in his prison time.

But for Dean blowing the whistle on Nixon's misdeeds it is highly questionable whether the Watergate scandal would have resulted in Nixon's resignation.

Category:

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Tags:

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• security
• secrets
• secrecy
• bureaucracy
• transparency
• government
• executive
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[eastariel]

Congress assigned George Washington great power and influence as the first American president. That's because they knew him well and they trusted him deeply. As a humble public servant who consistently put the needs of his nation above his own needs, he instilled confidence in his ability to lead his nation fairly without resorting to abuse of power many monarchs have shown.

Today's presidents, however, haven't earned this reputation. We need to curb their power through more checks and balances.

[UFCextra]

@akrilexus why ? because he'll ruin what our men and women in uniform have fought for ?

[tresdizz]

im a liberal, but i know that the independence turn to run the country will be coming soon. everybody gets a fair shot.

[akrilexus]

Where is Ron Paul when you need him? Oh how I wish he had been elected...

[eirefrance]

Its kind of funny that this guy was Nixon's White House Counsel. I wonder if he addresses that in the longer video? Then again, if anyone knows Executive Branch abuse of power....

[voyeurdug]

Cheney had Rumsfeld at DoD downsizing and outsourcing the civilian contingent, and downsizing the active duty uniformed contingent. That's why, even now, reservists are carrying the heaviest load in combat areas, and active duty recruiters are hard-pressed to make quotas even with the economy in tatters. Civilians who quit or retired can't be lured back and new hires can't be lured in... not with the chump money being offered for Federal workers.

[freesk8]

I am a proud Libertarian and atheist. I believe that individuals have value and rights.

You might be someone who wants the executive branch to have more power than it does now.

I think you are right: there is probabaly no point in you and me arguing. I lack the power to persuade you, and you lack the power to persuade me.

Good day.

[merdufer]

you didn't present any argument yourself. all you had was some copy paste from the textbook of libertarian ideology. and honestly, there's no point arguing against this kind of statements. specific problems require specific solutions, neither "limit the government's power" nor "having a good government regulation" is the answer to everything.

[razorflown2]

Fora Rules

I'd never even heard of Fora till I found their youtube channel....

[humanist7117]

Flip Flop or just change of mind due to new evidence?