More snail mail searches

The Bushlet is at it again with signing statements, his patented way of turning legislation designed to limit presidential power into new assertions of presidential power. Congress passed a mostly technical postal reform bill that included reinforcement of protection of First Class mail from being searched without a warrant from a court. In his signing statement Bush asserted that he reserved the right in an emergency -- not closely defined -- to search mail without a warrant. Does the misnamed "war on terror" count as an emergency? Is he assertng a power he plans to use in the near future, or one he is already using, or is this more of a formality, claiming a power he doesn't intend to use just to build (or rebuild, as Cheney seems to believe) the power of the presidency in case a real emergency arises? Stay tuned.