Two books I want to read (but probably won't until they hit the thrift store shelves).

When democracy leads to tyranny, I still get to vote.

Is the Imperial Presidency Inevitable?

A review of THE EXECUTIVE UNBOUND: After the Madisonian Republic By Eric A. Posner and Adrian Vermeule, 249 pp. Oxford University Press. $29.95.

In “The Executive Unbound,” Eric A. Posner and Adrian Vermeule, law professors at Chicago and Harvard, respectively, offer with somewhat alarming confidence the “Weimar and Nazi jurist” Carl Schmitt as their candidate to succeed James Madison for the honor of theorist of the Constitution.

James Madison — until now the father of the Constitution — a theorist of rights, the social contract and consent of the governed, is to cede his place to a man who when confronted with the choice between liberal democracy, Communism and Nazism, chose the last.

Yeah, well, I wouldn't bet the farm on that.

The second book, James E. Rogan's "Catching Our Flag: Behind the Scenes in a Presidential Impeachment," may hold the secret to why Obama is reacting as he is on the Gunwalker scandal.

The WND headline says: "Impeachment? Lessons Obama learned from Clinton experience. Prosecutor-author sees White House on offense, not defense."

Noting recent statements from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., about the possibility of an Obama impeachment, Rogan writes: "I doubt that such impeachment talk rattles Obama. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if, deep in his heart, Obama is something of a Clinton impeachment 'fan.'"

"How else does one explain Obama's first two years in office: diving headfirst into an array of politically unpopular policy initiatives that sent his once sky-high approval ratings plummeting, and his apparent reception of the potential fallout little more than a shoulder shrug?" he asks rhetorically.

Rogan suggests Obama "lives within a new political paradigm with us ever since Bill Clinton's impeachment" in which it is deemed advantageous to:

* "Attack opponents endlessly, but always end the attack by saying you want to 'work with them,' and demand they end the 'bitter partisanship' infecting Washington";

* "Keep telling your story, no matter how much evidence (or poll numbers) undermines the claims";

* When the voters respond initially with shock or disfavor, keep pressing forward. In time, they'll grow tired and bored with the irritant. Given enough time, there is a good chance they'll turn their ire on the people holding you accountable for whatever shocked or irritated them in the first place."

Rogan points to Clinton's stature today as a kind of respected elder statesman as the proof of the success of such an approach.

Well, maybe, but there are differences now that should undercut such a confidence. Not the least of these is the Internet and the role of alternate media. Clinton had but to sell his lies to a credulous and loyal official media. Obama has to face US.

It's still David vs. Goliath, but we'll see who wins this time.