Black-and-white political cartoon set in a bedroom at night. A worried man in bed labeled “Congress” watches as a cheerful figure labeled “White House” sneaks out the door carrying bags and bundles marked “war powers,” “power to investigate,” and “power of the purse,” along with a ring of keys. A handwritten caption across the top reads, “It’s called separation of powers — we separate you from your powers.” Library of Congress: Herblock humorously represented the Nixon administration as a thief, coming in the night to steal the constitutional powers of Congress to declare war, investigate the executive branch, and control the budget. Although Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Lyndon Baines Johnson had wielded exceptional presidential power, Nixon faced a Congress controlled by the Democratic Party on the eve of a Senate investigation into the Watergate break-in. Believing that the Constitution granted him executive privilege, Nixon and his administration pushed back against Congress. www.loc.gov/exhibits/herblock-gallery/herblock-looks-at-1973.html#obj01
Another evergreen from #Herblock: “It’s Called Separation of Powers—We Separate You from Your Powers.” Published in the Washington Post, April 15, 1973.
