President Bush today renewed the nation’s national emergency status for another year. Being in a state of national emergency extends the power of the executive branch, so why not extend it, right? This, of course, is the same man who went around the country stumping for Republican candidates most of last month, and whose Chief of Staff told the New York Times that Bush held off on announcing his Iraq war plans to the UN until September because “you don’t launch a new product in August.”

Update: Umm, cancel the outrage. It turns out we’ve been in a state of emergency since 1994. It’s still lame, but it’s been lame for awhile.