“RUSH: Talk about the incoming administration for just a second in one regard. One of the unfair, to me — maybe I’m wrong about this — one of the unfair criticisms is that you and the President have spent an inordinate amount of time beefing up, in a separation-of-powers sense, the power of the executive branch. You have strengthened it based on some weakening that you’ve felt that it had experienced in previous administrations. Now, do you think the incoming administration will benefit from the strengthening you have engaged in with the executive branch? Do you expect them to cede some of their power back to the legislative branch?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, my guess is once they get here and they’re faced with the same problems we deal with every day, that they will appreciate some of the things we’ve put in place. We did not exceed our constitutional authority as some have suggested, but we — the President believes, I believe — very deeply in a strong executive, and I think that’s essential in this day and age, and I think the Obama administration is not likely to cede that authority back to the Congress. I think they’ll find that, given the challenge they face, they’ll need all the authority they can muster.”