(2007-01-31) — Under the terms of a bill proposed today by Sen. Arlen Specter, R-PA, the president’s role as commander-in-chief would be “redefined for the postmodern era as collaborator in chief.”

The measure comes just a day after Sen. Specter respectfully rejected President George Bush’s claim to be “the decider” on the issue of a troop surge in Iraq, saying “the decider is a shared and joint responsibility.”

“The antiquated Constitutional notion that the president is in charge of the armed forces has become obsolete if ever it was true,” the senator said. “A 21st century president isn’t the sole decider when it comes to military leadership. He’s the facilitator, the bridge builder, the conciliator, the suggester.”

Mr. Bush’s idea that he bears responsibility for troop deployments, Sen. Specter said, “is an artifact of an era long gone when people thought leadership consisted of bold principled vision, decisive action and unshakable perseverance.”

“We now know,” he added, “that true leadership in time of war means finding the least offensive, politically-expedient middle ground to allow all members of Congress to claim credit for achieving the Defense Department’s primary goal of keeping our armed forces out of harm’s way.”

The Pennsylvania senator said his bill will “clarify” Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution which says, “The President shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called into the actual service of the United States…”

“President Bush has taken advantage of the gray areas and vague language of this text to bolster his own opinion that he’s in charge of the military,” Sen. Specter said. “But most legal scholars now agree that there’s a vast difference between what the Constitution says, and what it actually means.”