The turnaround

The revelation that the President authorized NSA monitoring of Al Qaeda communications with cells in the U.S. Has been out for a few days. Why did the NYTimes hold it for a year before releasing it? Maybe because it's promoting a new book by the story's lead reporter. Maybe it was timed to torpedo the extension of the Patriot Act. It certainly has brought out plenty of the usual angry posturing about "spying on American citizens.

But this time, it feels different. Bush came out swinging. We've never seen him so . . . so outraged, so assertive, so combative. He made the case that this disclosure was a scandal not for him but for the Times, and though he didn't say it in so many words, much, much more violative of national security than the penny ante Plame revelation. He didn't duck the fact that he had authorized this monitoring, and he wasn't the least abashed by it. He made a strong case that he had the authority to do this as part of his oath of office, which is set forth in the Constitution and his role as Commander in Chief. He has made a logical, and reasonable case for the need to take such actions. And who can argue that his concerns about this being leaked were not well-founded. It would have been much more difficult to keep secret if it had to go through other offices and branches. He confided in some high level members of Congress, but somebody blabbed. And so they will have to start over to find out how Al Qaeda communicates. If it succeeds next time in an operation here, and kills more Americans, it will be an easy case to make that the New York Times bears part of the blame.

There's a sense that Bush's shaking off his passivity in the face of overheated rhetoric from the Democrats. His refusal to answer in kind has led many to see it as an admission.

No more. His anger and forceful logic are reminding people of the seriousness of this struggle and explained why we have had no repeats of 9/11 for four years. I think that anyone with common sense would know that the war was being fought in secret; we had been told so. But this confirmation that it was so should prove sobering, and his poll numbers, which had languished below 40%, have been rebounding.

We see the kind of concerns he has been living with as President, and can sense the pressure and worries of the job.

I, for one, am glad, and feel my faith has been confirmed.