Bush -- Breaking the Law

Our boy at TPM made this point a month ago, but Bush has been making even more aggressive statements lately that imply the Tbills in the Social Security trust fund are worthless: "Imagine," Bush said in a speech a short time later at West Virginia University at Parkersburg, "the retirement security for future generations is sitting in a filing cabinet." The implication is that these Tbills aren't a firm foundation for social security.

It turns out, that's against the constitution. It is illegal for Bush -- or anyone -- to question the solvency of the public debt. Specifically, the 14th amendment says: "The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned."

So, prima facie, when Bush goes around implying that this debt isn't something the US is likely to pay, he's violating the constitution.