I was originally kinda amused by this exchange between Bob Barr and Dana Rohrabacher on CNN but the more of the transcript I read the angrier I got.  I think the thing that riled me the most was Mr. Rohrabacher's constant refrain of "this president" as in this controversy is not about the office of the President and the powers held therein, but about the "majesty" of one George W. Bush.  Frankly, I couldn't think of a more unconservative notion then to trust so much in the goodwill and benevolence of one human being, especially when we're talking about American democracy and governing the country.  Our government was founded on the notion that no one man should have the kind of powers our President essentially assumes he is entitled to but for Rohrabacher and others of his ilk they couldn't be happier because they never really gave a shit about the Constitution or democracy to begin with.  They're the people who used to sit back and admire how efficiently the Soviet Union was able to pursue its interest by squashing all dissent and used to say as much when people questioned the likes of Nixon or Reagan.  They're the people who like to foment fears of war and terrorism because it justifies their disregard for what they perceive as the weakness of democracy; respect for the laws that check the powers of our elected leaders. 

On the other hand, Mr. Rohrabacher is quite the partisan Republican.   I suspect that if a President Clinton had secretly done what Mr. Bush did he would be beating his chest with his copy of the Constitution arguing the President dangerously violated the rights of American and raising questions about whether or not enemies of the White House were being targeted by these illegal wiretaps.  Good question, really.  If Mr. Rohrabacher had any principles he wouldn't be taking the President at his word he would be asking to see the list of those targeted.  He wouldn't be singing the President's praises, he'd be looking into why the President needs to secretly bypass all current legal regulations on domestic surveillance when as Josh Marshall points out the Attorney General can currently order immediate wiretaps and get FISA court approval as many as three days later.  That fact alone suggests maybe this Administration didn't want to go to the FISA court because they didn't want any scrutiny of wiretaps targeting more than just terrorist suspects.  I'm sorry, but in the America I grew up in it was never enough for the President to say "trust me I have your best interests at heart", but then again principled conservatives like Mr. Rohrabacher who should stand up and check such arrogance obviously could care less.