Bush on Spying: Would You Rather Die or What?

Today our president, against his usual backdrop of US soldiers (although, notably, this time he used wounded US soldiers as props) -- offered his latest, revised reasons for spying on Americans.

Guess what? He says that he had to spy to save Americans from terrorists and liberals. What a surprise! And oh, he also said that because it was only a little spying that makes it okay.

What's fascinating here is Bush's temporization of the rights of Americans. I thought liberals were the ones who engaged in "moral relativism" and that conservatives had hard and fast beliefs about good and evil. I would have thought that government spying is evil -- a black deed, not a gray deed as Mr. Bush seems to be saying, as if grayness makes it kind of okay. I thought liberals were the ones who always saw things in shades of gray.

But now without further adieu, here's Bush's latest:

"This is a limited program designed to prevent attacks on the United States of America, and I repeat limited," Bush said before flying back to Washington after six days cloistered on his ranch in Crawford, Tex. "I think most Americans understand the need to find out what the enemy's thinking. Takeway: Because the spying is limited (whatever that means) therefore it's okay.

"If somebody from al Qaeda is calling you, we'd like to know why." Takeaway: Anybody/any liberal who would stop us from spying on people without a warrant is an al Queda terrorist or sympathizer

The president's first public comments of the new year after no public appearances last week offered a glimpse into how his administration intends to deflect congressional inquiries into his authorization of wiretaps on terrorism suspects -- with a vigorous defense of the program as a matter of national security. Bush acknowledged in a live radio address last month that he authorized the four-year-old surveillance program and defended it as "critical to saving American lives," a tool to prevent another attack on U.S. soil. Two days later, he defended the legality of domestic spying in a lengthy year-end news conference at the White House. Takeaway: Weak liberals want to kill Americans, just like terrorists do.

"It seems logical to me that if we know there's a phone number associated with al Qaeda or an al Qaeda affiliate and they're making phone calls, it makes sense to find out why," Bush said at the Brooke Army Medical Center, where he met with about 50 wounded soldiers, Marines and airmen and their families. He also awarded nine Purple Hearts to troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. "They attacked us before, they'll attack us again."Takeaway: It just does not make sense to have to get a warrant when you're finding out why al Queda is calling a liberal or even a moderate Republican.

I can hardly wait to see Krugman's next editorial!