The controversy with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales boils down to the supposed wall that exists between the AG and the President. The independence of the former has been a sore spot for Congress since Watergate. Sen. Arlen Specter has pointed out several times that safeguards were in place which were removed when Gonzales, a close friend of Bush, became AG after Ashcroft resigned.

This is just nonsense.

If all 50 states believe it is only right and proper to elect the Attorney General separately, then why can we not amend the Constitution to permanently enshrine this principle that Congress is struggling so mightily to create on their own?

In fact, the Executive branch of every state has many separate elected officials. In Minnesota, we have a Secretary of State to do elections and an Auditor to look after local government in addition to the AG. 48 states have elected Treasurers, and many have elected Insurance Commishes, Agriculture Commishes, and Education Commishes.

The Founding Fathers rightly gave the Executive Branch the power it needed to get things done on a day-to-day basis. They tried to check this with the Congress, but over time the administrative part of our government has grown to meet that challenge. The result is too much power to invest in one person.

The solution is to do what every state does – break up the Executive into smaller pieces with well defined roles. That way, we can have the benefits of a powerful executive without the potential for abuse.