As Rich Noyes pointed out yesterday, the morning shows jumped on the "USA Today" story about the NSA having phone records of ordinary Americans. This morning, CBS’s "The Early Show" continued with the coverage, and used the story to revive one of their favorite terms, "Domestic Spying." In covering this story this morning, co-host Harry Smith interviewed Delaware Senator Joe Biden, a critic of the NSA program, and asked softball questions. With the exception of 2 short clips of President Bush and 1 clip of General Michael Hayden, the President’s nominee to be CIA Director, viewers did not hear from any supporters of the NSA’s actions.
Harry Smith opened the broadcast with the following tease:
"Good morning I’m Harry Smith. The heat turns up again on the domestic spy scandal as members of Congress call for an investigation into a report that the government collected the phone records of millions of Americans. We'll have the latest."
This tease referred to the "top story" of the day, which was a report from the White House from CBS News Senior White House Correspondent Bill Plante. Harry Smith introduced the Plante piece:
"First we want to get right to our top story this morning, new outrage over a secret domestic surveillance program. The National Security Agency collected the telephone records of tens of millions of Americans and angry members of Congress say they want an investigation.
Plante began his coverage by claiming:
"The news that the government has been collecting these huge records, mounds of telephone records, has put the President on the defensive."
But does this issue really put the President on the defensive? A new Washington Post/ABC News Poll found that 63% of Americans believe that the NSA program is an acceptable way to fight terrorism and 66% are not bothered by it.
After portraying the President as on the defensive, there were 2 quotes from President Bush defending the NSA program. Towards the end of the piece, a quote by General Michael Hayden was also show, but this is all viewers heard from defenders of the program:
President George W. Bush: "We're not mining or trolling through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans. Our efforts are focused on links to al Qaeda and their known affiliates."
President Bush: "The privacy of ordinary Americans is fiercely protected in all our activities."
General Michael Hayden: "Everything the NSA does is lawful and very carefully done. And that the appropriate members of the Congress, House and Senate are briefed on all NSA activities, and I think I'll just leave it at that."
But that was all viewers heard on the "Early Show" from supporters. Plante also played some clips from Democratic critics:
Patrick Leahy, Vermont Senator: "Are you telling me that tens of millions of Americans are involved with al Qaeda?"
Leahy’s comments preceded Plante’s announcement:
"On Capitol Hill, outrage. Republican Arlen Specter says he'll call the phone companies to testify.
This remark was followed by clips of two other Democratic Senators.
Dick Durbin, Illinois Senator: "We're talking about the most fundamental issue of privacy for America and its citizens."
Dianne Feinstein, California Senator: "I think this is also going to present a growing impediment to the confirmation of General Hayden."
Right After Plante’s piece, Harry Smith interviewed Senator Joe Biden, which begs the question, if CBS is having on a critic of the Administration’s policy, why didn’t they have on a supporter as well? Smith’s first question to Biden was a slow-pitch softball:
"Fourth Amendment is supposed to protect every American from unreasonable search and seizure. Do you think this big grid passes that test?"
Biden predictably responded that it did not "pass that test."
Smith followed up:
"Well, the President, though, said yesterday, we're not listening to the phone calls, we're just looking for patterns."
Biden tried to claim that it’s still too intrusive on Americans.
"Harry, I don't have to listen to your phone calls to know what you're doing. If I know every single phone call you made, I'm able to determine every single person you talked to. I can get a pattern about your life that is very, very intrusive..."
After Biden rambled on for a while longer, Smith set him up to talk up FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act passed under the Carter Administration of which Senator Biden was a cosponsor, by inquiring:
"Here's the other thing, though. We go all the way back to December and the warrantless wiretaps. The president said I have the authority. We went through this. The Congress gave me authority to this and we have this war on terror. We've got guys like Senator John Kyl say, complaining about this is nuts, we're at war here. How are we going to find these guys?"
To which Biden took his opportunity to defend FISA and take a shot at the President and Vice President over their honesty:
"Years ago, Harry, I was one of those guys that co-sponsored the bill called FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Everyone I've spoken to who's been briefed on this matter says that everything that they want to do deal to with al Qaeda is able to be done under FISA and maybe with a small amendment to FISA. But this idea that no court will review, no Congress will know, and we're going to trust the President and the Vice President of the United States, that they're doing the right thing, don't count me in on that."
After these stories this morning, it is clear where CBS stands on the NSA issue considering they wouldn’t give equal time to a supporter. Maybe they’ll have a defender on next week to discuss it. But if they do, will it be someone credible who knows the issue, or will it be Bay Buchanan?
