Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Keeping a sense of perspective

The WSJ today points out that J. Edgar Hoover's name still adorns the FBI HQ. Despite the known fact that he was a blackmailer and routinely engaged in political espionage. And yet some people want to impeach the President for legal wiretaps. Let's keep some perspective here people. Is that too much to ask?

OpinionJournal - Featured Article: "Key members of the relevant Congressional oversight committees were informed at least 12 times. The chief judges of the FISA court knew about it. The process was routinely reviewed by Justice Department lawyers and by the Attorney General himself. And the President examined and reauthorized the program every 45 days or so.

In short, if there were any real abuses going on here, there were plenty of people in the loop and able to blow the whistle. Instead, we've only heard from people who, for reasons of partisanship or ignorance of the President's Constitutional war-fighting powers, object to warrantless surveillance per se. Dressing up such a separation of powers dispute in the language of scandal, as is happening now, serves no one but our common enemies.

After all, vigilance in defense of liberty means vigilance against foreign bad guys too. If Congress wants to demonstrate its concern about the potential misuse of surveillance power, it can rename the FBI building and put would-be lawbreakers on notice that they will not be remembered fondly. But Congress should also leave honest Presidents alone to perform their Constitutional duty to defend the homeland."
Well now that I think about it perspective might be the wrong word. The Presidents opponents are continually trying to portray Bush as Nixon. How many things have the Democrats tried to turn in to Watergate? Maybe they are keeping their own perspective. Seeing everything you disagree with as a scandal is a perspective, right?