He's not channeling John Yoo. The President is acting under the express authorization of Congress, which authorization could be withdrawn, and with it the President's ability to drone strike people simply because they are on hostile soil working with al Qaeda. John Yoo's view of the authority of the "unitary executive" is far more expansive.
Of course, what you're actually doing here is invoking a bugbear (John Yoo is also notorious for conjuring quasi-legal justifications for abhorrent interrogation policies, including torture) to avoid engaging with what 'rayiner is actually saying.
Well Jeez, I really wasn't trying to invoke a bugbear. I'm reaching for a label. Yoo just happens to be the most prominent articulator (in my mind) of the ideas you guys are promoting. Do you disagree with that characterization? I didn't hear you protest the neo-conservative label, which I personally find much more pejorative.
As I say in my comment above, it seems that our fundamental disagreement is that I perceive a dangerous concentration of power in the executive, and you don't. If that's the case then we're likely at an impasse.
Of course, what you're actually doing here is invoking a bugbear (John Yoo is also notorious for conjuring quasi-legal justifications for abhorrent interrogation policies, including torture) to avoid engaging with what 'rayiner is actually saying.