Keep this in mind

There will be a lot of huffing and puffing by the liberal media in the next few days about how Bush abused his authority in regard to monitoring of communications of U.S. citizens by the NSA. As you evaluate the situation, keep in mind that the Fourth Amendment, according to the Supreme Court (Lewis Powell writing) forbids "domestic security surveillances . . . conducted solely within the discretion of the executive branch." Fine. But as Powell also noted, that holding didn't apply to "the president's surveillance power with respect to the activities of foreign powers, within or without this country." So, if Bush listened in on a foreigner talking to a U.S. citizen, he was within the "law" acting alone and he was certainly in the clear if he consulted with others in the legislative or judicial branches.