Inside the bunker -- The fall of the imperial presidency and the rise of Dick Cheney : 1789-1976 -- "A cabal of zealots" : 1977-2000 -- The agenda -- "Behind closed doors" : secrecy I -- The unleashing : laws and treaties I -- "A hollow shell" : secrecy II -- The perseverance and the purge : laws and treaties II -- The torture ban -- Power of the pen : signing statements -- "To say what the law is" : the Supreme Court -- Discipline and control : the Executive Branch -- The politics of presidential power.