The presidency in exile: the closing of the executive under George W. Bush

This article explores the foundations of the new imperial presidency as designed by George W. Bush. Our claim is that it is a perfect constitutional and historical storm which produced one of the most controversial evolutions of the US political system in the last two centuries. We explore here first the genealogy of the imperialization of the presidency, paying special attention to the relations between Congress and the President from the 1970s onwards, and the formulation of a doctrine which could be called the "presidency in exile." The second part, which could be entitled "the restoration," describes the lack of legitimacy and of mandate imparted to George W Bush in the 2000 and 2004 elections and the paradox which exists with the extraordinary realignment designs of Karl Rove. The third part studies signing statements and executive privilege as signs of the closing of the American presidency and its isolation from checks and balances. Our claim is that the Bush presidency is imperial not so much because of the quantity of power it exercises but because of its systematic and preemptive incapacitation of the checks that can be exercised on executive power.