Reply #16: Well, that belief presumes a few things

[AntiCoup2K4]

1 - That a President is legally elected by the majority of the American people.

2 - That said President legitimately has the best interests of America in mind. Meaning that Americans may have legitimate differences on policy, but it's understood that at least the first 39 presidents in this country (and presumably the 42nd) legitmately wanted to protect the American people in his own way.

3 - It is the legitimate, constitutional duty of the Senate, under the seperation of powers, to determine whether a President's nominee is fit for the job for which he or she has been nominated.

In the case of Rice and Gonzales, they both did their previous jobs VERY BADLY and America has sufferred as a result of both of them and their incompetency. I don't believe any other President - not even Reagan or Poppy - would even be trying to promote these failures.

The reason we HAVE seperation of powers/checks and balances in the first place is to prevent one branch from appointing people who are not compatible with America's best interests. And I applaud every Senator - even the usually detestable Evan Bayh - who realized that fact today and acted accordingly.