In response to a challenge at an open-forum in Charlotte yesterday, President Bush defended the terrorist surveillance program warrantless wiretapping undertaken by his administration with the following:
“I’m not going to apologize for what I did on the terrorist surveillance program, and I’ll tell you why,” Bush said, launching into his explanation of how he approved the program to avoid another Sept. 11. “If we’re at war,” he said, “we ought to be using tools necessary within the Constitution on a very limited basis, a program that’s reviewed constantly, to protect us.”
Someone should tell him that constant review to assess constitutionality should come from outside his inner circle, not within it. When we have nothing more than a lying sycophant as attorney general, I’m not going to readily accept the empty promise that the president cares about liberty. As it is, I only accept the clear possibility that the administration is constantly reviewing its actions to figure out how to continue transitioning the United States into a police state.