President Obama, lauded by many for his prowess as an orator, used an interesting choice of words during an interview with Charlie Rose. When discussing the scope of the NSA surveillance programs, the president made seemed to blur the lines as to who is safe from the snooping.
OBAMA: What I can say unequivocally is that if you are a U.S. person, the NSA cannot listen to your telephone calls, and the NSA cannot target your emails.
(emphasis added)
“I don't know what a U.S. person is,” Glenn said on radio this morning. “I don't know what a U.S. person is.”
“A U.S. person is anybody who's in the U.S. maybe,” Pat suggested, “because that includes illegal aliens?”
It isn’t clear what President Obama meant when he said ‘person’ instead of ‘citizen.’ But based on the ongoing immigration debate in this country, it is safe to assume Obama is looking to blur the line between U.S. citizens and people who just so happen to be in the U.S.
“You are a U.S. person. So you are a person what has come into the U.S. You're here illegally, you're here for a job, you're here for whatever, you're just trying to make your way through the world,” Glenn said. “Okay. So you're a terrorist. I'm a U.S. person. So if you're a U.S. person that happens to be a terrorist, can we spy on you? Can we eavesdrop on you? Can we listen to your phone calls? Do we have anything we can do on a U.S. person? How do we know who a U.S. person is?”
If you think back to a few years ago, Michelle Obama vowed that her and her husband would work to change the language and change the culture, and it looks like he may have succeeded in doing just that.
“They have certainly fulfilled that promise,” Pat said. “Of all the promises they made, that's definitely one kept.”