Revisiting the USA Patriot Act

President Bush is taking his case for renewing the act on the campaign trail. He told supporters at a recent rally in Hershey, Pa., that "the Patriot Act makes it able for those of us in positions of responsibility to defend the liberty of the American people. It's essential law."

Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, voted for the Patriot Act in 2001 and still supports major parts of it. But Kerry now charges that the Bush administration has misused aspect of the law. He has promised to eliminate "sneak and peek" searches and "fishing expeditions into people's library and business records."

The problem here is that we are being asked to choose between George "Signed the Patriot Act" Bush and John "Voted for the Patriot Act" Kerry. There's no real choice for people who don't like the Patriot Act, even if Kerry is now trying to change his tune. It's pathetically obvious that Kerry is attacking the Patriot Act because Bush is defending it; if he was serious in his opposition to such legislation he would have voted against it when he had the opportunity.