Lowry On Dowd's Latest
I laughed out loud earlier when I read this post from Rich Lowry on NRO's (sort of) weblog:
Often, I read the first two paragraphs of a Maureen Dowd column, realize it's going to be unreadably terrible, then just keep going. So it was today. My favorite lazy cheap-shot, this one on Dick Cheney and the energy task force: "No one has ever said there was the right to remain private in the course of trying to influence federal policy." Well, yes, but plenty of people have said that there is a right to remain private while formulating federal policy--it's called executive privilege.
Quality, indeed, tends to go to hell, even in the case of non-academics. :)
I just wish Lowry had not described executive privilege as a "right" (since, presumably, individuals rather than government entities possess "rights"), but that's an ongoing pet peeve. I also cringe at references to "state's rights" even though I often sympathize with the arguments. All together, boys and girls: governmental institutions, entities, and actors exercise POWERS, not rights.
[Posted at 23:06 CST on 01/30/02] [Link]
