The Line You Shouldn't Cross

Mark Twain once said "Never start a fight with a man who buys ink by the barrel." Bush seems to have done just that, in a way that the press is (hopefully) unable to ignore:

Brian Ross is reporting at ABC news that the US government is tracking the calling patterns of political reporters to further their leak investigations.

If that's true, then I think we can set aside any pretense that administration policy on all manner of electronic surveillance isn't being brought to bear on political opponents, media critics, the press, everybody.

Just to be clear, these aren't investigations in to Plame-style leaks that destroyed important national security personnel. These are the leaks that hurt the Bush administration. I guess this is the rule to follow for the Bush Administration - to figure out what they care about most, just look at where they're breaking the law most flagrantly.

The funny/horrible thing is, this may very well enrage and terrify the press in a way that Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, Diebold's voting booths, the NSA wiretapping, passing unconstitutional budgets, the politicization and militarization of intelligence, not to mention the whole Iraq war, never did.

"Shit! You mean that after all those cocktail parties, they'll still spy on me?!" As if a government unencumbered by law was only a danger to the little people.