General Hayden at the National Press Club

As the executive powers of President Bush grow, and as the abuses continue to mount in all areas of his presidency, the picture of the NSA wiretaps story is still murky.

General Hayden, formerly of the NSA but now higher up in the administration's intelligence community apparently was involved in setting up the programs we're still trying to understand. On Monday, he gave a speech at the National Press Club defending the NSA programs under question. His speech did not exactly make clear what these NSA programs are or why we should trust President Bush. General Hayden's speech is long and somewhat tedious to read. I fear it's purpose is administration damage control. But the speech should be read.