Bush defends Patriot Act, attacks Democrats

President Bush is doing the "good offense" thing again. This time, it is in defense of the Patriot Act.

President Bush accused Democrats yesterday of blocking a full reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act for political reasons, as the White House stepped up an aggressive campaign to defend the president's terrorism-fighting authority.

"For partisan reasons, in my mind, people have not stepped up," Bush told reporters, with 19 federal prosecutors by his side. "The enemy has not gone away; they're still there, and I expect Congress to understand that we're still at war and they've got to give us the tools necessary to win this war."

In case you hadn't noticed, Mr. President, they have stepped up. They have stepped up to keep you from dragging this country further down the road toward totalitarianism, and there are more than a few Republicans among them. You can call that 'partisanship' if you want to. Some of us prefer to call it 'democracy.'