If the Bush WH isn't targeting rivals like Cindy Sheehan and Joe Wilson

then why couldn't the FISA courts be informed after the fact about the wiretapping? There is a 72 hour notification provision, I believe, that allows them to get the authority after the fact. It's fairly easy to get the authority, especially for a wartime president. Why can't he run the names by them now? What's to hide?

provision allowing seventy two hours without any warrant at all, so time constraints could NEVER be a factor.

The only constraint in the FISA law is that the spying has to been supported by some justifiable cause. Something other than, Michael Moore hates bush.

requests to the FISA courts, only 5 denials. Makes you wonder what they were going after if they couldn't risk a 1:4000 chance of success? Of course they were operating outside of the law, of course they were outside of any reasonable justification. They won't tell and intend to keep doing any damn thing they want!

Even if Chim Chim is signing the order, come on think about this: Someone has to draw the paperwork up, get it reviewed, write a cover memo explaining what's needed, then put together the final copies (and with it being as hush hush as this has been, this job wouldn't be trusted to the regular typing staff one of the senior people would have to do it - senior people don't, in general, type well or quickly - they don't have to normally) then it has to go up the chain to the oval office. And I assume they'll need an appointment - he's very tetchy when it comes to exercise or his naps - he may be sitting there doing nothing but playing with the pencils, but you can't just run into the president's office waving a piece of paper and saying hey sign this. Then they have to put a pen in the ape's hand - remind him how to spell his name and have him sign the one or two or three copies of the document. THEN it has to go back down the chain of command to go back to the person who will have the actual wire-tap done. And all this of course done on an eyes-only basis which always slows things down in any office.

How this could be faster than a preexisting system that allows 72 hours for the White House to file a search warrant after the tap is in place? can't anybody ask that?