If the last seven years haven't given the lie to that silly, silly idea, do we really have to go through another eight to finally disprove it?

If it (the last seven plus years) was enough, we wouldn't be in the position we are in right now, would we.

Evidently America has a whole lot more sewer to be pulled through before we get meaningful change... I'm not happy about it but it seems to be the truth... The pendulum has farther to swing.

Loyal Bushies!

Well that pretty much does it. The Hoyer-GOP reacharound has created the spawn of Nixon and the courts can't stop it.

Frankenstein in parchment. I'm sure that Victor Hoyer is proud of his accomplishment. I only hope HIS dirty laundry is the first to go up the flag pole for all to see...

I know he'll sleep well tonight. There's probably a clause protecting his worthless ass in that abomination.

So much for keeping Bush out of our underwear drawers. I guess I'll have to replace all my BVD's with something racier for them... We'll all have reputations to live up to now... Make it worth spying on us...

God but I feel so disgusted...

Mr Obama! SAVE ME!

Save me from the lawlessness of the last 8 years!

Save me from the humiliation of the most unpopular president in the history of the country!

Save me from the endless threats of terrorist attacks! The endless color coded threat levels! The endless embarrassment of our country supporting torture and murder and sleazy religious con-men and women twisting the constitution and the laws of our great country.

Save me from the ruthless interrogation and having other human beings 'disappeared' by MY government. Save me from the lies that started wars and the lies that will continue the wars. Save me from the cooked intelligence and the partisan game playing with the economy and our cities and the poor!

Save me from the callousness of a government that sat on their hands while people died in New Orleans! Save me from a government that aids and abets the corporations to cheat and break environmental laws and who game the economy!

Given the grave threats that we face, our national security agencies must have the capability to gather intelligence and track down terrorists before they strike, while respecting the rule of law and the privacy and civil liberties of the American people. . . .

After months of negotiation, the House today passed a compromise that, while far from perfect, is a marked improvement over last year's Protect America Act. . . It does, however, grant retroactive immunity, and I will work in the Senate to remove this provision so that we can seek full accountability for past offenses.

It is not all that I would want. But given the legitimate threats we face, providing effective intelligence collection tools with appropriate safeguards is too important to delay. So I support the compromise, but do so with a firm pledge that as President, I will carefully monitor the program, review the report by the Inspectors General, and work with the Congress to take any additional steps I deem necessary to protect the lives -– and the liberty –- of the American people.

Please God! Save us from Barack Obama! If he can't stand up for this very important thing, how can I believe that he'll stand up for anything else important.

Mr Obama: Save us from you! You have to be a grown up to be president. Int somtimes involves not going with the others and breaking out in a new direction. A 'change' in direction (wink wink)

I'm disappointed in you. Your leadership is deafening...

Funny, it didn't look like a compromise from here...

http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/blog/robertc

Curiosity gets you into trouble in this administration. In the McCain administration you will be excluded from the bar-b-que. A fate worse than death apparently.

Hah!

I guess I try to be an idealist. I try to think that the people on 'our side' have similar values and cognition of the scope and potential damage that can be done if things aren't done right.

This FISA sellout is a 'smoking gun', it is the 'mushroom cloud' that Bush and Rice talked of to scare us. Well, irony of ironies that it comes from the hands of our own party and not Osama Bin Laden or North Korea.

Am I angry? You bet. Am I sad? Oh yeah. Did I believe that Obama would do the right thing? I certainly hoped that he would. There was still time to be MacGyver and save the show. What happened last week is not a cliffhanger, it's the show going off the cliff.

In the end, 'trust me' is all that we have in politics. Some trust is woefully misplaced and other trust is wrongly withheld. One thing that rings true from the moment it was said whenever it was said: Only a fool trusts his government.

From PJ O'Rourke: "The U.S. Constitution is less than a quarter the length of the owner's manual for a 1998 Toyota Camry, and yet it has managed to keep 300 million of the world's most unruly, passionate and energetic people safe, prosperous and free."

AND from PJ O'Rourke AND Obi Wan Kenobi, Jedi Master:

"A little government and a little luck are necessary in life, but only a fool trusts either of them."