“How Bush Rules” and “How Would a Patriot Act?” Perspectives on Presidential Power from Inside and Outside the Beltway

A Conversation with Sidney Blumenthal and Glenn Greenwald

October 23, 2006, 12:30pm – 2:00pm

About This Event

More than any other modern president, George W. Bush has sought to consolidate and expand the power of the presidency itself. In recent books, two authors examine this phenomenon from two different perspectives. In How Bush Rules, Sidney Blumenthal, renowned journalist and former adviser to President Clinton, argues that President Bush’s expansive views of executive power make him the most radical president in American history. In How Would a Patriot Act?, Glenn Greenwald, a constitutional lawyer and self-described independent, explains how he came to believe that “the concentrated and unlimited power now claimed by President Bush constitutes a true crisis for the United States.” Join these two distinguished writers in a discussion with Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Mark Agrast.

Featured Panelists:
Sidney Blumenthal, former Assistant and Senior Adviser to President Clinton, author of How Bush Rules: Chronicles of a Radical Regime
Glenn Greenwald, constitutional lawyer and author of How Would a Patriot Act? and the political blog "Unclaimed Territory"

Moderated by:
Mark Agrast, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress

Location

Center for American Progress
1333 H St. NW
Washington, DC 20005

Biographies

Sidney Blumenthal is the former Assistant and Senior Adviser to President Clinton; author of How Bush Rules: Chronicles of a Radical Regime, The Clinton Wars, and other books including The Permanent Campaign, The Rise of the Counter-Establishment (New York Times Notable Book of the Year), Our Long National Daydream, and Pledging Allegiance: The Last Campaign of the Cold War (New York Times Notable Book of the Year); currently columnist for The Guardian of London, and Salon.com; former staff writer for The Washington Post, The New Yorker, and The New Republic, and contributing writer for Vanity Fair; playwright of the widely produced and broadcast This Town; associate producer of the major motion picture Max; executive producer of forthcoming documentary on the Bush administration’s torture policy; and currently senior fellow at the New York University Center on Law and Security.

Glenn Greenwald is a constitutional lawyer and author of the political blog "Unclaimed Territory," which he founded in 2005. He is also the author of the New York Times Best-Selling book, How Would a Patriot Act? a critique of the Bush administration's use of executive power. After graduating from New York University’s School of Law, Greenwald was a litigator at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz in Manhattan, and then founded his own firm, Greenwald Christoph, with a focus on constitutional issues. His reporting and analysis have been cited in numerous political magazines and he appears frequently on television and radio news programs. His blog has become a much-cited source on issues of presidential power.

Mark Agrast is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, where he focuses on the Constitution, separation of powers, terrorism, civil liberties, and the rule of law. Prior to joining the Center for American Progress, Agrast was Counsel and Legislative Director to Congressman William D. Delahunt of Massachusetts (1997-2003). He previously served as a top aide to Massachusetts Congressman Gerry E. Studds (1992-97) and practiced international law with the Washington office of Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue (1985-91). Agrast has been a leader in a number of professional and civic organizations, including the American Bar Association, in which he serves on the 37-member Board of Governors and is a member of its executive committee.