Fear will keep the local systems in line.

The President gave his speech defending the spying program this morning.

AP: Bush Says NSA Surveillance Necessary, Legal

He defended the program stating that it is "a necessary part of my job to protect" us and that it would continue "for so long as the nation faces the continuing threat of an enemy that wants to kill American citizens". Ummm, so as long as the United States has enemies, it will continue? So... forever then. Okay.

He also once again said the real scandal is that we, the American people, were informed about this.

Furthermore, he insisted that only international conversations were monitored illegally and that all domestic eavesdropping was done on the up-and-up, FISA-style. Ohh well now I'm totally reassured. Keep in mind that the article also mentions that the President's legal defense for this program was already laid out this morning by Attorney General Gonzales. His defense, which the AP report called a "detailed legal rationale", was that 'Congress authorization of the use of military force after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks was ample authorization for the surveillance'. That logic basically states the authorization to invade Afghanistan somehow gave the President the authority to do whatever he wanted. Makes sense, no?

My favorite passage from the article:

Raising his voice, Bush challenged Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid and Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton — without naming them — to allow a final vote on legislation renewing the anti-terror Patriot Act. "I want senators from New York or Los Angeles or Las Vegas to go home and explain why these cities are safer" without the extension, he said.

Reid represents Nevada; Clinton is a New York senator, and both helped block passage of the legislation in the Senate last week.

Ahhh, fear again. 'Support my programs or explain to your states why you embrace terrorism!'.

Bottom line- The President again used the specter of terrorism to frighten us into accepting this. But the issue was never about whether we would allow the government to take the necessary steps to monitor terrorists and to protect us. As Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo states "Wiretaps are conducted around the country every day. The FISA Court alone approves something like a half a dozen a day in highly classified national security or espionage related cases"... the issue here is that the President bypassed this system and put himself above the law for extremely dubious and potentially frightening reasons.

In the fight to save democracy, the President has declared that the rules of said democracy are irrelevant and do not apply to him in achieving his goals. That is unacceptable. The fact that the President, and his most ardent supporters, don't get that is indeed a scary thought.

Sorry George, I'm not sold. Executive privilege didn't work in '74 and won't work now. Accountability, please.