Sorry, Wrong Number

I'm amazed to see that there are still some--such as the New York Times and Howard Dean--who are trying to mislead the public into thinking that the President knowingly violated the law regarding phone surveillance of suspected al Qaeda-linked phone calls. There's a very good piece at PowerLine citing specific cases that clearly support the President's assertion that his actions are legal, supported by case law, and within the established powers of the executive branch. As this article points out, the New York Times' intellectual response to these clear legal precedents is simple: ignore them and hope that no one else ever hears of them.

Clearly this whole issue has nothing to do with Presidential powers; it has to do with partisan politics by the party out of power, hoping to undermine the party in power. I become more and more dismayed by the destructive nature of the political process that values party over national security. And I assure you that, if I make any phone calls to al Qaeda agents or operatives overseas or domestic, I have no objections if the government chooses to listen in on such calls.