Couldn’t of said it better myself.

President Bush is playing politics with the nation’s security, and as he has done many times since 9 / 11, he is proving himself willing to frighten Americans with the specter of terrorism to get what he wants.

House Democrats are right to resist his efforts to expand the program of secret wiretapping. But Congress should renew the program, which expired last weekend, long enough that it can negotiate a permanent law next year with a new president - one who is unsullied by this one’s manipulations.

When the president threatens to veto any wiretapping bill that does not grant retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that provided information without warrants, the country has cause to say “enough. “The president lacks the credibility to make the case. Bush claims that the House, by letting the law lapse rather than pass the one he wants, is leaving the country more exposed to attack. But that’s not true. Congress should pass legislation now to renew the justexpired law, but without the lawsuit protections Bush is demanding. Then, early next year, if the new president believes such safeguards are necessary, he or she can make that case to Congress and the public. That’s the only way Americans can hope to be sure that these radical protections truly are needed.

- The Buffalo (N. Y. ) News