Our system of checks and balances is designed to prevent any one branch of government from dominating the others. The Bush administration believes that the executive branch has been dominated by the others (or at least by the legislative branch) for too long, and it is determined to reassert its rightful power. This is as it should be. Each branch should try to do as much as it can vis-à-vis the other branches. It is the responsibility of the other branches to prevent it. The editorial board of The New York Times wants President Bush to roll over for the other branches. See here. Note the nature of the disagreement:

Bush administration: We’re reasserting executive power after years of submission.

New York Times: The Bush administration is trying to dominate the other branches.

I’m with the Bush administration on this one. By the way, I love the following paragraph:

This showdown between a Democratic Congress and a Republican president may look partisan, but it should not. In a year and a half, there could be a Democratic president, and such extreme claims of executive power would be just as disturbing if that chief executive made them.

When the editorial board of the Times denies being partisan, you know that it’s being hyper-partisan. A Democrat president doing precisely what President Bush is doing would be merely defending the executive branch from the encroachments of the other branches.