More and More Like Nixon Every Day

It's heartening to see Scooter Libby's revelation that Bush and Cheney okayed his leak of top secret material getting serious attention on TV, in the print media and on blogs. Do we dare hope that this sordid situation receives continuing serious coverage over many news cycles? Question of the day on this issue from Digby:

If the president was willing to authorize leaking of national security information to reporters for political purposes, why should we believe he won't authorize warrantless wiretaps on Americans for political purposes?

Coincidentally, when the always smirking Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was testifying before the House Judiciary Committee yesterday, he hinted that Bush and the NSA might be conducting a truly domestic warrantless spying operation. Previously he has insisted that the current NSA surveillance program monitors only Al-Qaeda "suspects" talking with people in the U.S.  According to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle:

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales suggested for the first time Thursday that a president might have the legal authority to order wiretapping without a warrant on communications between Americans that occur exclusively within the United States.

"I'm not going to rule it out," Gonzales said when asked about that possibility at a House Judiciary Committee hearing.

Gonzales has implied previously that there are secret NSA spying programs in addition to the one Bush admitted was in place to intercept conversations between suspected terrorists abroad and individuals on domestic soil. See this Washington Post article from early March.

Are you old enough to remember Richard Nixon commenting in 1977 about his view of executive privilege by saying, "well, when the president does it, that means it is not illegal?" If so, you too must be experiencing a frightening case of deja vu. All over again. Watch Nixon explain away his law breaking. I wonder what excuses Bush will use when he is finally cornered. And he will be.

Irony: Nixon with Prescott Bush, Dubya's Grandpappy