WASHINGTON - President Bush's campaign to convince Americans that the government's eavesdropping program is essential to the war on terrorism has made an impact: Last month people disapproved, 56 percent to 42 percent. Now it's basically 50-50.
Bush has been particularly successful at making his case to core supporters, including Republicans, white evangelicals and suburban men. Support in each category grew more than 10 percentage points in the last month.
The AP-Ipsos poll findings came as the White House relented and provided some new details to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees about the program. At Bush's direction, the National Security Agency has been monitoring communications between people overseas and in the U.S. when links to terrorism are suspected.
However, Senate Democrats left their three-hour session Thursday frustrated about the level of information they received from Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Gen. Michael Hayden, the nation's No. 2 intelligence official.
"Where we really wanted hard information that was important to us — to give us the size of the scope and the reach and the depth — they were not forthcoming," said West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller, the intelligence panel's top Democrat. "And what that did was take good people who were willing ... to have an open mind about all of this, and push them the other direction."
The irritation stood in contrast to some Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee. That panel's top Democrat, Rep. Jane Harman (news, bio, voting record) of California, left a separate briefing on Wednesday cautiously saying she saw a thaw after weeks of White House insistence that it would not brief the congressional committees on the program's details. Under the initial plan, the briefing was only supposed to cover legal issues, but members said they also got some operational information.
It was unclear why the White House suddenly was willing to share more information with lawmakers. When asked what changed, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said: "Meaningful dialogue." He would not elaborate.
The debate over the program has turned intensely political in recent days. A growing cadre of Republicans has joined Democrats in raising fundamental questions about the program. Although the White House has argued the president has all the authority he needs to order the surveillance, calls for legislation have grown.
As part of an upcoming bill, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said he wants the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to review the program and determine if it is constitutional.
Using a different approach, Sen. Mike DeWine (news, bio, voting record), R-Ohio, said changes in U.S. law are necessary to give the White House the statutory authority it needs to conduct the monitoring — and end the controversy.
Bush's spokesman Scott McClellan said the White House will listen to lawmakers' ideas on legislation, but the president has indicated he would resist any move that would compromise the program. "There is a high bar to overcome on such ideas," McClellan said.
It is all about politics here. The Bush administration has been sending Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to congressional hearings as a delaying tactic. Gonzales is not going to reveal any details on the NSA spying operation to any congressional investigative hearing--certainly not without a subpoena, and even with a subpoena, the White House will fight against it by claiming either executive privilege, or such information would divulge national security interests. And while Gonzales is playing the delaying tactics, you've got Bush out on the campaign trail saying how such surveillance is helping thwart terrorist attacks--oh, and here's the details, though a little late. It is all based on trying to sway the American public into accepting such domestic spying activities to be used against them. What is scary is that the American public seems to buy into this argument, if it helps thwart terrorist attacks--even though the public also is worried that such spying is going on without a court order.
This is another political campaign issue. And so far, the Bush White House seems to be winning it at the moment.
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