In a sense, it’s no surprise what John Dean of the Nixon Administration thinks of the Bush Administration; he wrote Worse Than Watergate a couple of years ago. But now he is speaking with even more evidence at hand and more people are listening.

I have to say I’m impressed by Arlen Spector (again). Of course, his fellow Republicans dispise him. mjh

John Dean says to censure Bush By Maeve Reston, Post-Gazette National Bureau

Former White House Counsel John Dean, a central figure in the Watergate scandal who served time for his involvement in the Nixon administration cover-up, told a panel of senators yesterday that President Bush should be censured for authorizing the government to eavesdrop on Americans’ international phone conversations. …

“I think I have probably more experience first-hand than anybody might want in what can go wrong and how a president can get on the other side of the law,” Mr. Dean said. “Had a censure resolution been issued about some of Nixon’s conduct long before it erupted to the degree and the problem that came, it would have been a godsend.”

Mr. Dean said wiretapping by the Bush White House was “a part of a very consistent, long-term, early-announced policy of this presidency that they are seeking to build presidential power for the sake of presidential power.” And he said censure was appropriate to restore the balance of power.

Rolling Stone : John Dean on Censure

No presidency that I can find in history has adopted a policy of expanding presidential powers merely for the sake of expanding presidential powers…. It has been the announced policy of the Bush/Cheney presidency, however, from its outset, to expand presidential power for its own sake, and it continually searched for avenues to do just that, while constantly testing to see how far it can push the limits. I must add that never before have I felt the slightest reason to fear our government. Nor do I frighten easily. But I do fear the Bush/Cheney government (and the precedents they are creating) because this administration is caught up in the rectitude of its own self-righteousness, and for all practical purposes this presidency has remained largely unchecked by its constitutional coequals….

DeLay’s righthand man was on the take. So, was DeLay oblivious or involved. Which do you like better: inept or corrupt? mjh

A Force Behind the Power By Juliet Eilperin and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum, Washington Post Staff Writers

When Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) was working his way up the leadership ladder in the 1990s, he often turned to an athletic assistant named Tony C. Rudy.

Rudy, now 39, was known as a bare-knuckle political operator who was trusted explicitly by his ambitious boss. … With Rudy’s help, DeLay rose to the No. 2 position in the House Republican leadership.

Key events in the Tony Rudy investigation