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This is why I'm so glad this NSA dustup happened during Obama's presidency (note: I voted for him). I think if this had happened during a Republican administrat

This is why I'm so glad this NSA dustup happened during Obama's presidency (note: I voted for him). I think if this had happened during a Republican administration, particularly the last one, even less would be made of it. I think there's a really good chance it would have been reduced to a partisan scuffle and people that identity Republican would have been less inclined to find it offensive. I think the hilariously consistent approach to our privacy and the Patriot Act by both administrations creates an opportunity for the public to react to the facts relatively independent of their party affiliations.

blisterpeanuts 13y ago
Yes, but it also means that the party in power, currently the Democrats in the Senate and Executive Branch, have a stake in the status quo, as did the Republicans previously. Witness the contrast between candidate Obama in 2008, piously railing against privacy invasions and warrant-less wiretapping, and a defensive, contrite President Obama this month, smoothly reassuring us that NSA analysts won't monitor content without a warrant. By the time the 2014 elections roll around, this issue will be all but forgotten by the vast majority of the electorate. At least, that's what both parties are probably counting on.
- redblacktree 13y ago
  > By the time the 2014 elections roll around, this issue will be all but forgotten by the vast majority of the electorate. I sure hope you're wrong about that one. It's only a little more than a year away.
  - betterunix 13y ago
    Yeah, and politicians know how to deflect attention from this issue. A few months before the election, if people are still talking about the NSA, you can expect the media to suddenly start reporting on a scandal involving some politician, or how the economy is taking a new downturn, or how we gave Syrians some kind of deadly weapon. The people in charge of this country know how to deal with reporters: give the reporters a scoop, and they'll forget whatever it was that they were reporting on before that.

blisterpeanuts 13y ago

Yes, but it also means that the party in power, currently the Democrats in the Senate and Executive Branch, have a stake in the status quo, as did the Republicans previously. Witness the contrast between candidate Obama in 2008, piously railing against privacy invasions and warrant-less wiretapping, and a defensive, contrite President Obama this month, smoothly reassuring us that NSA analysts won't monitor content without a warrant. By the time the 2014 elections roll around, this issue will be all but forgotten by the vast majority of the electorate. At least, that's what both parties are probably counting on.

redblacktree 13y ago
> By the time the 2014 elections roll around, this issue will be all but forgotten by the vast majority of the electorate. I sure hope you're wrong about that one. It's only a little more than a year away.
- betterunix 13y ago
  Yeah, and politicians know how to deflect attention from this issue. A few months before the election, if people are still talking about the NSA, you can expect the media to suddenly start reporting on a scandal involving some politician, or how the economy is taking a new downturn, or how we gave Syrians some kind of deadly weapon. The people in charge of this country know how to deal with reporters: give the reporters a scoop, and they'll forget whatever it was that they were reporting on before that.