When I read the Memeorandum headlines about the Boston Globe’s complaints that the vice president’s office reads legislation headed for the president’s desk, my first thought was to write some satire for the Walkerville Weekly Reader. The president has his advisors read bills before he signs them? Horrors! But it gets tiring pointing out the shrillness of some of the complaints in the media about President Bush, especially since there are only about two things I agree with him on.

So I’m just going to link to Jay Tea’s article at Wizbang, which covers all the points I would have.

The gist of the story seems to be that an aide to Cheney has been reviewing and annotating legislation passed by Congress before it reaches the president’s desk for signing (Bush has yet to veto a single bill), offering thoughts and observations… the idea that the Vice President should have a staff member whose duties are to review legislation, and then report to the President, strikes me as entirely logical and sensible.

More presidents should have their advisors read legislation before they sign it. More congressmen should, too, before they vote. For that matter, so should the rest of us. There ought to be a mandatory two-month minimum between the time a bill gets its last modification and when it gets voted on. This way everyone in the United States who cares could read the bills they care about.

But complaining that the president actually has his aides read the legislation they’re giving him advice about, that’s just more silliness from the world of unreasoning partisanship.