Correspondence
Correspondence EXECUTING LAWS THE LOOSE INTERPRETATION of the U.S. Constitution posited by Harvey Mansfield in "The Law and the President" (Jan. 16) is troubling. Mansfield appears to embrace the...
...In Federalist 70, upon which the author also relies, Alexander Hamilton emphasized the desirability of having one person serve as the executive (as opposed to a committee or a council of advisers...
...MARVIN MAURER Toronto, Canada...
...AIRING ARIEL ANXIETY ARIEL SHARON'S switch to the peace camp has brought near universal praise, including Peter Berkowitz's "Ariel Sharon's Legacy" (Jan...
...The Constitution, however, does state that the executive "shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed" (Article II, Section 3...
...Of course tyrants claim to use discretion for the common good, but you are not going to defeat tyranny by passing a law...
...Thus a strict interpretation of the Constitution requires a loose interpretation of the rule of law...
...By the way, Socrates in Plato's Apology mentions a law he would disobey...
...This principle was well employed by Antony after the death of Caesar, as well as by Lenin in 1917...
...It is surely a vast leap of faith to interpret the word "secrecy," contained in one sentence of this long paper, as carte blanche authorization to ignore current legislation, even the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act...
...WILLIAM M. MILLER Medina, Wash...
...But it does set up a competition between the executive and the legislature as to which is needed most, discretion or law...
...It is not going to say it is legal to disobey the law—that would be contradictory...
...Sympathy for Sharon's plight is commendable, but that should not prevent an understanding of his foreign policy blunders and his betrayal of campaign promises to protect Jews living in Gaza...
...Strangely, the phrase "strong executive" and the word "emergency" are not written anywhere in the Constitution...
...You need, rather, a strong power beyond ordinary law capable of defending against tyranny...
...The tradition of adherence to the rule of law has been a foundation of democratic governments since Socrates' refusal, as recorded in Plato's Crito, to disobey the Athenian death sentence pronounced upon him...
...In my opinion the Constitution contains both viewpoints and thus legalizes both...
...If strict construction of the Constitution is a conservative value, should we deem Mansfield a liberal interpreter of the Constitution...
...The "Framers' intent" game, which the author so eagerly plays, is always dangerous given its inevitably subjective conclusions...
...HARVEY MANSFIELD RESPONDS: My critic presents the "rule of law" viewpoint...
...Sharon betrayed his electoral base by unilaterally pulling out of Gaza, thereby leaving the Palestinians a safe haven to import vast amounts of arms from the Gaza-Egyptian border, which Israel can no longer monitor...
...Fair enough, but it needs to be supplemented by the other side presenting necessary departures from the law...
...But missing is the nationalist viewpoint, which contends that the three field generals (Rabin, Barak, and Sharon) have failed as political leaders by jeopardizing the security of Israel...
...Mansfield appears to embrace the concept that the Framers created a "strong executive"—not only one who could independently define "emergency" but also who could knowingly violate the law in such an emergency...
...Breeching the Sadat-Begin agreement, he has let Egyptian troops back in the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza...
...To grant Mansfield due credit, "emergencies when liberties are dangerous and law does not apply" have indeed been proclaimed throughout history—often after a military coup...
Vol. 11 • January 2006 • No. 19
