Take My Constitution, Please

So CIA nominee Gen. Michael Hayden says the NSA warrantless wiretapping is legal. What else does the Senate need to hear to make a decison on this man? The Bushies can say it's legal all they want, but it doesn't make it true. A little thing called the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution says warrantless searches are not legal, period.

Two things occur to me as I read about this man's testimony. First, nominees for the CIA or the FBI used to at least say the right things about constiutional authority in order to get the job. Sure, once in place, they might disregard the law, but at least they knew that what they were doing was wrong. Today, a man nominated to lead the CIA doesn't even pay the Constitution lip service.

Second, I can't help but wonder what some prominent Republicans of yesteryear would think about the Bush administration's domestic spying program. We may never know, but I truly believe that Eisenhower, Ford, and Papa Bush would not have allowed it. Nixon, Reagan ... maybe.

I never cease to be amazed at how many Americans are ready to hand over the civil liberties that were bought for them at such a high price. Too many, but certainly not all, Americans think that if they aren't violating the law, they have no reason to fear a prying government. The lessons of 1776 are lost on such people, and on my more pessimistic days I think, well, maybe people have to lose their civil liberties every few generations to appreciate them.