Emily
Bazelon
wonders, entirely correctly, why
Barack
Obama
has been missing in action on the
FISA
compromise bill passed by the House today. Finally, the
Obama
campaign sent a lukewarm endorsement of the measure: As to the key reforms of
FISA
, the bill is an acceptable compromise, not perfect but the best one can do under the situation. As to the retroactive immunity for
telecom
companies,
Obama
says he will work to change that in the Senate.
What gives? Why did
Obama
stay silent for so long, and why did he finally offer such a muted response to the bill?
The answer is simple: