And the Problem Is . . .?

Here's the first big story for your 2006 "so what" file.

Eric Lichtblau and James Risen attempt to fan the furor around the NSA warrantless surveillance program by reporting that a Justice Department underling was reluctant to sign off on the program while serving as acting attorney general (AG Ashcroft was in the hospital at the time).

The piece goes on to suggest that AG Ashcroft -- far right bogeyman, no less! -- may have expressed reservations about the program, and:

What is known is that in early 2004, about the time of the hospital visit, the White House suspended parts of the program for several months and moved ahead with more stringent requirements on the security agency on how the program was used, in part to guard against abuses.

So the "big scoop" is that the Bush Administration went the extra yard to avoid abuses, the program was suspended at times to guard against abuses, and a deputy was loathe to take it upon himself to make a crucial DOJ decision without input from his hospitalized boss.

Oh, how damaging for the Bush White House . . . NOT.