Activist and blogger Swanson (cofounder of AfterDowningStreet.org) warns that the eight years of the George W. Bush presidency witnessed unprecedented crimes against the US Constitution in the service of the imperial presidency. He surveys the Bush/Cheney power grabs with reference to distortions of law, declarations of war, budgetary powers, the politicization of the judiciary, powers of treaty and appointment, executive signing statements, and the power of pardon. He also describes how the US Congress failed to act as a check or balance against the executive and urges readers to engage in actions towards undoing the imperial presidency, a project he suggests at one point may take generations (especially as President Obama has embraced many of the Bush/Cheney positions described). Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Read Less