Obama's Unplanned NSA Discussion

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You have to wonder if President Barack Obama ever thought, when he first ran for the White House, that he would need to defend himself from accusations his presidency would be a mere extension of his Republican predecessor.

But there he was with journalist Charlie Rose having to explain why his approach to national security wasn't really like that of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. The main reason President Obama is no repeat of that previous administration? He pointed to his championing of strong checks and balances on federal government surveillance (his strong suggestion was that his immediate predecessors didn't). Further, he seeks a "national conversation" about data-gathering by the government and other entities. Again, the implication there was that any broad debate during the Bush-Cheney years about surveillance was something the prior administration was only brought to while kicking and screaming.


Obama's Unplanned NSA Discussion