Sleeping With The Enemy?

Imagine if reporters would only research, then ask the right questions to the Bush Administration. Maybe it would go something like this:

Reporter Ms. Reportstruth: You've accused Al Gore of being a hypocrit because you believe that when he was vice president, the White House allowed searches to happen without a court order.

Scott McClellan: Gore is a hypocrit. He just can't allow something during his stint as vice president and then reverse his opinion while President Bush is in the White House.

Reporter: Mr. McClellan, I these are two completely different situations.

McClellan: No they are not. They are the same.

Reporter: You mention that both Clinton and Carter also authorized physical searches without a court order. How are those executive orders similar to the warrantless eavesdropping President Bush has authorized?

McClellan: Well, umm, those were all done without a court order, just like the president's wiretapping.

Reporter: Mr. McClellan, is that it?

McClellan: Well, are you calling me a moron? I know that wiretapping and physical searches are not the same. But, both Clinton and Carter set the precident.

Reporter: Did they? Mr. McClellan, the specifics of both of those executive orders were on a case by case basis. Is President Bush authorizing wiretapping on a case by case basis?

McClellan: Ms. Reportstruth, these are unusual circumstances, and it really takes too much time for the president to authorize wiretapping on a case by case basis.

Reporter: Mr. McClellan, Clinton's executive order still followed the law as he allowed a physical search of an agent of a foreign power without a court order. That agent, a Soviet spy, was indicted in the case and the items found in that search were submissible in court. And, the access a Soviet spy would have for weapons of mass destruction would be the envy of any terrorist.

McClellan: Ahhhh, well, you know. We are dealing with terrorists. We have no idea what they have supporting them. They could be agents of a foreign power, but we just don't know until we do some wiretapping.

Reporter: Clinton had reasonable evidence to prove this CIA agent was a Soviet spy before allowing the search, which was verified by the attorney general. Does President Bush have reasonable evidence to show that these people he is wiretapping are indeed a foreign power or agents of a foreign power?

McClellan: Look, we are dealing with terrorists here. We have no idea what is backing them, whether it be a foreign power or people with a lot of money. That is why we have to have warrantless wiretapping.

Reporter: Then, when Carter authorized surveillance, he did so knowing that there would be no contents of communications that a United States person would be a party. Is President Bush also protecting the privacy of US persons with his wiretapping?

McClellan: I cannot say at this time. Discussion of the specifics of the wiretapping might hamper our efforts against terrorism.

Reporter: Mr. McClellan, if I'm hearing you right, you've proven that the situations between Clinton, Carter and Bush are obviously different and are not comparable, and you're saying that going through the proper channels is too slow, suspected terrorists are beyond agents of foreign powers, the war on terrorism trumps any constitutional right any US citizen might have, and anyone is guilty until proven innocent.

McClellan: Ms. Reportstruth, I believe that the president is doing the best he can to defend the country against terrorists.

Reporter: Didn't all public officials in the White House swear to defend the Constitution?

McClellan: Right now, we are charged with keeping Americans safe.

Reporter: There are reports that the FBI and CIA are backlogged with routine work, and much of the amount of warrantless wiretapping authorized by the president would never be analyzed. So, how is this extreme warrantless wiretapping going to keep Americans safe?

McClellan: Our agents are hard workers, and we just don't know what information will prove to save our country from the work of terrorists. There just might be a piece of information that could prove valuable to our efforts to combat terrorism.

Reporter: In the meantime, are you saying that Americans should allow a president to go untethered without proper checks and balances?

McClellan: We have to do what it takes to stop terrorism.

Reporter: So, in this war on terror that the president has declared, there is no need for Congress and the Supreme Court?

McClellan: Our president is our commander-in-chief, and we must allow our commander to command. If we don't, then we will be susceptible to terrorists.

Reporter: There seems to be a prevailent thought in the White House that our only enemies are the terrorists. Terrorism has been around for centuries. Why are they such a perceived threat now?

McClellan: They attacked us on our own soil on 9/11, leaving us vulnerable to more attacks.

Reporter: We were just as vulnerable before, and looking at our progress on the homefront, it looks like we are just as vulnerable now, or even more so, than on 9/11.

McClellan: That is why we need to give even more power to the president. He just doesn't have the freedom to accomplish what needs to get done to prevent another 9/11. Just like we had the Soviet Union in the cold war, now we have terrorists whose only goal is to harm the United States. Terrorists are our number one enemy.

Reporter: What is the president's plan if the United States finds a "new" enemy in a true foreign power that sneaks up on us like a prowling tiger and devours our vulnerable and weakened country because we have relinquished our freedoms and given our financial stability to foreign powers?

McClellan: The president doesn't work on plans, he works on power. Oil, specifically, and regardless what some say, petroleum is the energy of the future. We will always be the number one super power, so we shouldn't worry about all that foreign debt. We must do everything we can to stabilize that power.