So the question is, do we trust the Bush administration to use this power with care and competence?

The answer is, of course not. The administration has shown, time and again, that it can’t be trusted to manage the power it has. Iraq, Katrina, the budget, mine safety, prescription drugs—each and every one a monumental screw-up. What possible reason do we have to presume that the administration hasn’t screwed up the NSA eavesdropping program? We have no real idea who the NSA is spying on. Could be al-Qaeda cells. Could be your wife’s cell phone conversations. We have no idea.