Pot, meet kettle

“In terms of whether or not it’s possible to reprogram the kind of basic Russian DNA, which is a centralized authority, that’s hard to do. We’ve worked hard to make it appear in their interests – we made it clear to them that it is in their interests to have good relations with the West. And the best way to have good long-term relations with the West is to recognize that checks and balances in government are important, or recognize there are certain freedoms that are inviolate.”

George W. Bush, October 18, 2007

This from the President who, along with White House Counsel David Addington, is trying to circumvent the checks & balances in our own constitution by asserting that the executive branch has intrinsically more power and autonomy than the judicial or legislative branches?