Thank you, thank you very much, Part II

Forgot to mention:

Good lord man, it's a motion to dismiss a challenge to federal law filed by the Justice Department, an administrative arm of the Executive Branch, whose constitutional duty it is to enforce the law.

— Me, 06/12/09

Under the traditions of the solicitor general's office, the government does have an obligation to provide a defense in any lawsuit where there is a plausible argument to be made, even if the president does not agree with the law.

— Laurence Tribe,* 06/12/09

(He's more gracious, as well as less wedded to the Constitution's textual commands, preferring its intent to its actual language. Not that there's anything wrong with that; it comes in very handy when you need to come up with some sort of rationale to justify an outcome you've already arrived at in advance, such as, Hillary Clinton's appointment as Secretary of State is not unconstitutional.)

* Professor of Law, Harvard University.