The President’s Ever-Changing Excuses for Illegal Wiretapping
By Joel E. Bousley
February 8, 2006
"Anytime you hear the government talk about wiretap, it requires – a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're talking about getting a court order before we do so."-- President George W. Bush, April 2004
When one reflects upon Richard Nixon they are likely to remember the five most famous words that he uttered, “I am not a crook.” When Nixon uttered those words it was known then that he was in fact a crook. Like Nixon, George W. Bush is a crook who tries to derail the assertion that he is a criminal with statements to the contrary. In George W. Bush we have a president who has a record of deliberately misleading the American people. Most recently he has attempted to do so in regards to his illegal wiretapping program. Needless to say, Richard Nixon would be proud of George W. Bush’s handling of the illegality of his actions. More pointedly, George W. Bush could stand to learn from Nixon and humble himself rather than being so defiant.
In the 2004 presidential election, President Bush continually referred to his Democratic challenger, John Kerry, as a flip-flopper. The charge stuck in the public mind, and the president was brazen in his use of the accusation as he galloped across the country politicking. The title was not accurate then, and it has an ironic ring of truth to it now. The fact of the matter is that the title of flip-flopper suits President Bush more aptly than it ever suited Senator Kerry. One has only to take his record into account to see how well the label of flip-flopper fits George W. Bush.
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It is a matter of public record that the president has acted contrary to the law. America is a nation of laws and no amount of doublespeak or newspeak will change that fact. This administration – to paraphrase the words of Senator John F. Kerry – has only offered “lame” excuses as justification for its illegal actions. Since it is the Republicans who control both the House and the Senate it is up to them to ensure that this process gets fully under way. While the Democrats will play a role in oversight, they do not have the power to call witnesses or issue subpoenas. The lawlessness and defiance that has come to define the Bush White House must not be allowed to continue unchecked. The administration of George W. Bush, like that of Richard Nixon's, must be held accountable and made to answer to the laws that they have ignored for so long.
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