A Question for McCain and Obama

Vice President Cheney, in an attempt to shield his office's records from the public, came up with the novel claim in 2004 that the vice presidency is not part of either the executive or legislative branches (pdf link). After protests by several groups and government agencies, a federal judge recently ruled otherwise, ordering that Cheney's office preserve all records. McCain's running mate apparently agrees with Cheney's preposterous theory as well, lauding the "flexible" nature of the vice presidency.

The point of all of this is to raise the question of the executive branch's unprecedented power grab over the last 8 years. Here's where we stand today: Obama and Biden have criticized this administration for this reason; McCain has been silent on the topic (as far as I can tell); Palin seems to agree with Bush and Cheney, but in fairness, we know very little about her views on the subject because of her severely limited press availability (some have demanded she hold a real press conference). Still, even with Obama and Biden we know precious little about whether they plan to reverse this trend. After all, history has repeatedly shown that what Government takes over, it rarely relinquishes, even after the initial impetus disappears. This is the greatest argument for conservatism (IMHO).

So, my question to both McCain and Obama is this: Do you agree that the executive branch has expanded its powers over the last 8 years beyond its constitutional limits? What will you do as President to roll back these powers?

Now, I recognize that the current economic crisis has basically led to the semi-nationalization of the financial system and has vastly grown the executive branch's powers beyond anything we ever imagined. Nevertheless, I think we need to understand where these candidates stand on the general topic because that will tell us how much they value the constitution. In case this seems like a minor issue, let me remind you that the President takes the following oath:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

Before January 20, 2009 comes, we need to know how, or rather, whether, our next President intends to fulfill this oath. Because the last 8 years have shown that we cannot simply take this for granted.