BAMWATCH - DAY 1

Posted at 7:04 a.m. ET

We are informed by a variety of sources that the president-elect hopes to reverse most of the Bush administration by a series of executive orders.

That is his prerogative, I suppose, but it can turn out to be a terrible mistake.  A new president has two constituencies - his party, and the nation.  (This president-elect seems to have added a third - something called "the world."  We pray he soon outgrows that.)

By every survey taken, we've learned that the American people, last week, did not vote to repeal the Reagan era.  They may favor certain actions the new president takes through executive order, but they may easily see others as payoffs to the interest groups that make up the Democratic Party's base.  They may also see some orders as imperious and arrogant, a reinforcement of Obama's overinflated belief in his own goodness.

There is something solid and ratifying about the legislative process, even in the hands of Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, the king and queen of creativity.  The American people like the idea of open debate, and a vote by their representatives.  There is a legitimacy that an executive order, especially one dealing with a controversial subject, normally lacks.

One item apparently on Mr. Obama's agenda would restrict offshore drilling still again.  Brilliant, isn't it?  Just as the price of gasoline is going down, to the relief of the nation, the president would send a signal that we're not serious about developing our own resources.  This would bring warmth to the hearts of assorted mullahs, princes and other managerial types, and the price of gas at the pump would shoot up again.  Before signing such an executive order, to appease radical environmental groups, Mr. Obama might consider the meaning of such terms as "political suicide," "approval rating," and "one-term president."

November 11, 2008.