Obama issues signing statement on $106B war bill – The Hill (6/26/09):

President Obama signed the $106 billion war-spending bill into law Friday, but not without taking a page from his predecessor and ignoring a few elements in the legislation.

Obama included a five-paragraph signing statement with the bill, including a final paragraph that outlined his objections to at least four areas of the bill.

President George W. Bush was heavily criticized for his use of signing statements, declaring he’d ignore some elements of legislation by invoking presidential prerogative.

The Obama administration announced in the statement it would disregard provisions of the legislation that, among other things, would compel the Obama administration to pressure the World Bank to strengthen labor and environmental standards and require the Treasury department to report to Congress on the activities of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).

I wish I had an extra dollar for every time some Obama supporter attempted to defend his/her deity by pointing out that he was a Constitutional law professor fergawd’s sake. Yes, Obama is clearly much more qualified to flout the Constitution than Bush was, fair enough. But on the substance, this is Obama using yet another method to protect bankers and offshore manufacturers at the expense of taxpayers, labor, and the environment.

Cue: “But at least he’s not McCain!”