Using the insidious pretense of the “unitary executive,” George W. Bush has renounced two centuries of American democracy, violating the rights of citizens and brutalizing our system of checks and balances. If you have any doubt that this is a time of crisis, read Charlie Savage’s frightening (and undercovered) story in the April 30 Boston Globe. It documents an accumulating pattern of presidential lawlessness. Here’s one way to “nationalize” the 2006 elections: Demand that all candidates defend the Constitution. Defending our country means defending not only our physical safety but our Constitution from White House attacks.