The invention of the nuclear bomb was a scientific triumph, but
it also marked the beginning of an increasingly imperial
American presidency that has subverted the Constitution and kept
secrets from citizens. It has worked not to protect national
security but to retain power. So argues Pulitzer Prize-winning
author Garry Wills in his new book, Bomb Power: The Modern
Presidency and the National Security State. He recently spoke
with U.S. News about the legacy of the Manhattan Project, how
Nikita Khrushchev was actually the rational actor in the Cuban
missile crisis, and why President Obama has continued the secret
practices of the Bush administration, such as the option of
extraordinary rendition and not releasing torture photos.
Excerpts: You argue that the bomb dramatically increased
presidential power. How so? Normally, after a war there's a rush
to demobilize and reconvert industries, bring the boys home, end
it all, and that didn't happen after World War II because now we
had this great big secret that we