Gillers on How Next Year Is Not The End of The Bush Presidency

In a classic satire piece two years ago in The Nation, NYU ethics prof Stephen Gillers explained how January 20, 2009 is not necessarily the end of the current term.  “It depends on what themeaning of ‘four years’ is. The Constitution says the President ‘shallhold his office during the term of four years.’ It does not say ‘onlyfour years’ or ‘four years and not a day more.’ ”  He might add that the literalist Justice Scalia could uphold that flexibility given the sloppy drafting.  [Alan Childress]