An Urgent Question for Tonight's Debate

The ACLU sent me an email with an interesting question. I'd dearly love to have the answer to this one:

Tomorrow night, at the last debate, one thing we can be sure of is that Barack Obama and John McCain will go out of their way to tell us how much they respect America's fighting men and women. There's a simple test that moderator Bob Schieffer can use to see if they mean it.

He can ask them how and when they plan to put an end to our government's ineffective and unnecessary spying on the personal phone calls of innocent Americans, including the phone calls of military personnel serving far away from home.

Late last week, two whistle-blowers -- former National Security Agency (NSA) military intercept operators -- the people who actually listen in on phone calls -- revealed that hundreds of innocent Americans, including soldiers and humanitarian workers for the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders, were routinely and intentionally eavesdropped on.

It's hard to think of a more insulting way to disrespect those serving our nation and the world overseas than intruding on their personal, sometimes intimate, phone calls back home.

Email Bob Schieffer, and tell him to ask the candidates about warrantless NSA spying on innocent Americans, including military personnel and international relief workers. (Clicking on this link will open up a new window in your browser.)

Anyone vying to be our next Commander in Chief should have a ready answer. The only way to stop this reckless spying is to make sure the NSA does not have unchecked spying power. That is why the ACLU is challenging the FISA Amendments Act with our Amnesty International v. McConnell lawsuit brought on behalf of an impressive array of journalists, human rights organizations and lawyers.

I can hardly wait for McCain's answer....