Jack Goldsmith: Unsung Hero

“Who??!?!?” Someday, historians will write about how we almost lost our country in the early 21st century. Jack Goldsmith will be one of the unsung heroes who stood up to that army of sad little men who were trying to hijack our government.

He was hired by the Justice Department in 2003 to run the Office of Legal Counsel. His job was to advise the White House on the limits of executive power. He was constantly battling with his fellow conservatives — especially Dick Cheney’s senior staff members — over torture and warrantless wiretapping.

And he was present when Abu Gonzales (then White House Counsel) barged into Attorney General John Ashcroft’s intensive care unit to badger him about domestic surveillance.

Goldsmith resigned from his job after less than a year. He's now a Harvard Law School professor. He also has a new book: The Terror Presidency: Law and Judgment Inside the Bush Administration.

Just as there are powerful Democrats who spout all the right slogans but won't act on them, there are also some anonymous workers inside the Bush Administration who are wrestling with their consciences and arguing with their gung ho coworkers. They might be the ones who will ultimately save us.