LAWMAKERS REACT TO NSA STORY, AMERICANS DON’T

From the story: “Are you telling me tens of millions of Americans are involved with al-Qaeda?" Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, railed at a morning hearing. "These are tens of millions of Americans who are not suspected of anything." Specter said he would call executives from AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth — the companies that supplied to the NSA their records on cellphone and land-line calls made from millions of homes, businesses and government offices — "to find out exactly what is going on." (USA Today) Daniel Henninger notes a budding terrorist “might reasonably conclude that major parts of the American government don't want to wage a war on terror and think the war is merely the obsession of the country's president.” (WSJ) According to one poll, a majority of Americans “initially support a controversial National Security Agency program to collect information on telephone calls made in the United States in an effort to identify and investigate potential terrorist.” (Washington Post) Drudge linked do this NY Times piece, indicating the information is nearly six months old. (NY Times)