Unsurprising, yet disturbing: Bush 'acts like a king.'

Ken Salazar isn't the sort of Democrat that anyone would've accused of being a radical leftie. Until he said this, of course. Now he'll be referred to as the "gay communist senator from Colorado."

WASHINGTON - Saying President Bush sometimes acts "like a king," Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., warned Friday that he would vehemently oppose Bush's next Supreme Court pick if it turns out to be one of two controversial U.S. Circuit Court judges or someone else he considers an unqualified ideologue.

During a conference call with reporters, Salazar said he would oppose Janice Rogers Brown or Priscilla Owen, two circuit court judges the Senate recently installed on the bench following a blistering confirmation process.

By singling out Brown and Owen, Salazar made his most specific warning to the White House yet, calling for more advance consultation before the president makes a nomination to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

"This president, frankly, sometimes acts like a king," Salazar said. "He's imperious. He believes he controls Washington and controls our country, and does so sometimes in a way that, it's his way or the highway, and doesn't take into account what other people are thinking...when they have a different point of view or are (from) a different party."