I would have liked the headline of the article (the correct original article headline was submitted here, as preferred by the HN guidelines) better if it had re

I would have liked the headline of the article (the correct original article headline was submitted here, as preferred by the HN guidelines) better if it had referred to "the President" rather than to "Barack Obama." This is an issue for every President. If government agencies can conduct operations that are secret even from the leader of the executive branch of government, they will not have effective leadership that reflects the values of the American people. I participated in the Restore the Fourth protests in Minneapolis yesterday (which were very lightly attended--my family of two adults and two children attending probably made up 3 percent of all protesters present between 6:00pm and 7:00pm). I also attended annual fireworks in the outer-ring suburban lakeshore town where my two older children had their earliest memories. Thousands of people there and tens and thousands in nearby locations watched fireworks and celebrated Independence Day together, with the celebration I attended including the whole crowd standing for the singing of the national anthem. Americans are glad to live in a country with a government with limited powers and constitutional checks and balances. If we are assured that government agencies have to follow the law set by Congress and are accountable to the President, we will be glad to go right on celebrating our freedom each year, whoever is President.