04 July 2008
Obama on FISA
Senator Barack Obama's statement today on revising the FISA law is a reasonable compromise that is the sort of policy stance that he needs to take in order to win the White House. The compromise measure provides that telephone carriers cannot be prosecuted for violating privacy if they administered wiretapping of their customers at the direction of the Federal Government.
We can't rely on telecommunications companies to enforce the Constitution on the President. Our laws have given the President the authority to regulate those companies. It is up to the public, Congress and, ultimately, the Courts to regulate actions by the President. FISA recognizes that order of things. It appears that Obama understands this. He deserves electoral support in November in the expectation that his Administration will act circumspectly when it comes to surveillance of threats to our security.
Senator Barack Obama's statement today on revising the FISA law is a reasonable compromise that is the sort of policy stance that he needs to take in order to win the White House. The compromise measure provides that telephone carriers cannot be prosecuted for violating privacy if they administered wiretapping of their customers at the direction of the Federal Government.
We can't rely on telecommunications companies to enforce the Constitution on the President. Our laws have given the President the authority to regulate those companies. It is up to the public, Congress and, ultimately, the Courts to regulate actions by the President. FISA recognizes that order of things. It appears that Obama understands this. He deserves electoral support in November in the expectation that his Administration will act circumspectly when it comes to surveillance of threats to our security.
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