McCain spoke about a great many things, including the presidential signing statement. McCain has fumed over the use of the signing statement ever since President Bush used his signing statement to renege on a deal regarding torture back in 2005. In November, 2007, McCain told a gathering at a Rotary Club that he would "never issue a signing statement." He seems to have changed his stance a bit since that speech. Today McCain declared, late in the speech:
I am well aware I cannot make any of these changes alone. The powers of the presidency are rightly checked by the other branches of government, and I will not attempt to acquire powers our founders saw fit to grant Congress. I will exercise my veto if I believe legislation passed by Congress is not in the nation's best interests, but I will not subvert the purpose of legislation I have signed by making statements that indicate I will enforce only the parts of it I like. I will respect the responsibilities the Constitution and the American people have granted Congress, and will, as I often have in the past, work with anyone of either party to get things done for our country.
His position is no longer absolute, and it is also misleading. He says: "I will not subvert the purpose of legislation I have signed by making statements that indicate I will enforce only the parts of it I like." Who would disagree with that? You will not find any signing statement the challenges various provisions because the president doesn't "like it." Unfortunately the debate surrounding the signing statement has created a false belief that when the president uses them, he "willy-nilly" moves through the bill, tossing aside those provisions that he doesn't care for or about. In fact, the signing statement, when challenging a provision of law, couches those challenges in constitutional language--or more simply, when a president refuses enforcement, he does so because not only does he believe, but also his legal advisers in the White House and in the Justice Department, has told him that it violates the Constitution.
It will be important as the election season matures to nail down McCain on the issue of the signing statement since his view has changed. It also might give him the opportunity to clarify that not all signing statements are bad and further, not all challenges are carried out--in fact, only a tiny fraction of the challenges are implemented by the president.
