Constitution 101: Part 3

Clause 1 is basically a preamble to the Enumerated Powers that immediately follow and in itself does not grant Congress any additional powers. [More]

The ones Chris is talking about are essentially promulgating the same misreading I've heard from useful idiots arguing for citizen disarmament based on the "general welfare" clause. In the case of a politician, though, my default belief is he knows exactly what he's doing, and he doesn't need schooling so much as he does a bucket of hot tar, feathers and a rail.