The administration that cried wolf on spying

THE BUSH administration's abrupt acknowledgment that it can, after all, track suspected terrorists without shredding the privacy rights of Americans inspires mixed reactions — relief that the rule of law has triumphed, suspicion that the administration's concession isn't all that it's cracked up to be and, most of all, anger at the president and his surrogates for suggesting that any criticism of their tactics was tantamount to treason.

January 19, 2007