A few weeks ago I came across an interesting show on one of the local PBS stations. A little bit of searching online afterwards revealed that it was part of series, The Constitution: That Delicate Balance. These were made in the 1980s and had various political, legal and media figures that were given a hypothetical situation and discuss the various issues. Some of them include former President Gerald Ford.
There are 13 one hour episodes that are available online. Unfortunately you have to create an account in order to have access to them and be able to stream Windows Media files. It’s a hassle, but worth it.
What really struck me about these was how contemporary the issues were, despite being nearly 25 years old. Issues like what war powers the President has, state versus federal powers and executive privilege.
One reply on “The Constitution: That Delicate Balance”
I watched most of them during their first broadcast on PBS in the 1980’s. They are seriously good!
And the reason they’re still relevant is because those tensions never go away, never get permanently solved, and never have. It’s like what Barack Obama said about how this nation is never perfect, but can and does perfect itself.