How dare you reveal my perfectly legitimate activities!!!

George Bush is apparently angry at those who revealed the spying activities that he considers perfectly legitimate. Does anyone sense a contradiction here? Bush growled that "[t]he unauthorized disclosure of this effort damages our national security and puts our citizens at risk," but if the spy program is on the up-and-up, why would that be true? It's not as if Al Qaeda is going to be able to evade detection any more easily now that the word is out (something tells me they knew very well we were trying to spy on them). Thus, the only way that revealing the program could harm it is if the public perceives domestic spying to be illegitimate.

Once again, Bush considers public opinion to be his most implacable and dangerous enemy. That's the mark of a leader who has set himself against the people he's supposed to lead. This is a conservative conceit that began with the Vietnam War - the idea that the American public is inherently stupid and will fight against its own (conservative-defined) interests given the chance. Conservatives think they know what's best for the people, and how dare the people open their mouths and suggest otherwise.

Well, these um...humble, self-serving patricians ...may be finding the tide turning against them. The Patriot Act is in deep trouble, McCain's Rebellion has (in theory, at least) banned Bush's cherished practice of torture, and Jose Padilla has finally been indicted under the law.

But don't expect Bush to surrender to democracy and human rights without a fight. As Russell Feingold says, "[if Bush relies] on his inherent power as president to authorize the wiretaps...then[Bush] 'doesn't need the Patriot Act because he can just make it up as he goes along.'" Something tells me that even the current reassertion of Constitutional, democratic authority won't stop Bush from trying to make up the rules as he goes along. The only way to remove this menace is to beat it at the polls, again and again.


BONUS READING GUIDE:
Here is an excellent article about economic policies that Democrats should push for in the next few years.

...and, for those of you who thought I was ignoring Christmas...

There's a reason that Santa is an acronym for Satan: Santarchy!!!