[Racehorse]

For those you have not browsed or read it, here's a link to Gonzalez's 42 page 19 January 2006 White Paper defending the LEGAL AUTHORITIES SUPPORTING THE ACTIVITIES OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY DESCRIBED BY THE PRESIDENT.  (Adobe Acrobat required.)

Setting the Spector story aside, and disregarding the usual partisan politics, what we have here is a Constitutional contest between the executive and legislative branches.  Not anything really new.  Sometimes the President wins.  Sometimes he loses.

This time, he'll win . . . I hope

[muawiyah]

The President has to win. The battle isn't really between the Executive and Congress; it's between individual private citizens and their need for personal security against TERRORISTS WHO WANT TO KILL THEM and the Democratic party.

Let's say the President loses ~ then the burden of dealing with AlQaida links in the United States falls back on "the people", and I'll guarantee you that "the people" will not be as surgical or careful as the Executive.

The waging of a civil war in this country while we are trying to smash world terrorism really isn't as desirable an outcome as the Democrats think.