http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051220/OPINION01/512200332/1068Nothing is more fundamental to the American system of government than the freedom of individuals against the heavy hand of government. Liberty, after all, was one of the unalienable rights the Continental Congress held to be "self-evident."
That liberty is severely compromised by a president who finds it acceptable to spy on citizens without so much as a secret court review, and who condemns questions about that spying as "shameful."
President George W. Bush's heartfelt pledge Monday to defend America would be more reassuring if he proved himself just as committed to the freedoms U.S. citizens cherish.
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Similar concerns about overreaching are central to the blocking of the Patriot Act, which Bush called "inexcusable" Monday. If the president expects Congress -- and the American people -- to trust him with more power, he's going to have to be more forthcoming about how he uses it.