For some reason, the traditional media is determined to take every word from the Bush team as gospel. Despite all the lies and misinformation they've been fed, the press really are still lapdogs to this administration. Think Progress masterfully documents the latest example involving Attorney General Gonzales who claims the domestic spying program is constitutional:
This is a classic case of misdirection. The issue isn’t simply whether or not collecting domestic phone records is constitutional. The issue is whether it’s legal. If the USA Today story is accurate, the NSA program appears to be illegal, not because it violates the fourth amendment, but because it violates two statutes.The Washington Post dutifully reported what Gonzales said with no analysis or additional research. I swear, the Bush people must just sit back and laugh about how gullible the traditional media is. Rove thinks their patsies. And, he's been proven right time and time again.
Significantly, Smith v. Maryland [the case used by Gonzales to support his contention] considers activities that occurred in 1976. Both of the statutes that prohibit the activity described by USA Today were enacted after that date.
