Chuck Todd

That's sort of the most provocative, simplified headline I could do.

has always been political and has always been lowercase c conservative.

But ever since the era TV made the presidency and the president a singular celebrity in American society, and in some ways that celebrity seemed to help over time.

I mean, with the exception of the Warren Court, they have always protected the power of incumbents over expansions of democracy.

And there's nothing particularly wrong with them being political, other than the fact that they tell themselves a story that they are just gods on high who live in a temple and dispense wisdom.

Garner the position of the presidency more and more power and usurp more and more power from Congress.

So.

Let's say thesis, not saying that's that's a fact, but that's a thesis that you could potentially defend or not.

And they're not political actors, and yet we all know they are.

And so we've introduced some legislation that would basically take advantage of the fact that Article 3 of the Constitution specifically says that the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court

But, Michael, what you really is, I'm going to find an excuse to do a deeper dive on the Articles of Confederation when when I can soon.

Nick from Michigan writes, hey, Chuck, thanks.

is limited to disputes between the states, admiralty law, maritime law, matters related to ambassadors, and such appellate jurisdiction as the Congress provides.

I find it regrettable to entertain such thoughts, but do you surmise that a component of Trump's strategic considerations for military intervention in Iran is to elicit a rally around the flag phenomenon that might favorably influence the midterm elections?

So Congress has the ability, if we choose, to strip all appellate jurisdiction from the Supreme Court.

Look, I understand you asking.

I mean, you know, if he was thinking about that, he wouldn't be the first president to think about that.

And so what we've done is introduced legislation that would say the senior appellate court would now be a separate court, and judges would be randomly assigned from the

We've had a movie called Wag the Dog that is of some infamy, and it's about 20-odd years old these days, but it's...

70 or 80 senior circuit court judges so that you couldn't choose your docket, right?