Harry Reid's Selective Outrage

Democrats must hate going on FoxNews programs because they end up having to answer questions that they don't get anywhere else. This morning Harry Reid was interviewed by Chris Wallace and had to admit that he had been briefed on the NSA intelligence program:

An uncomfortable Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid admitted on Sunday that he was briefed on the Bush administration's decision to have the NSA monitor domestic communications in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, as reported in the New York Times on Friday.

"I was briefed a couple of months ago," the testy-sounding Democrat told "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace, after complaining: "Listen - the program has been in effect - it's been in effect for four years now."

Reid's admission came only after Wallace pressed him twice about President Bush's claim yesterday that congressional leaders had been briefed on the program.

Asked the first time Reid dodged the question, saying: "[The president] can't pass the buck on this one. This was his program. He's commander in chief. But the commander in chief does not, I think, trump the Bill of Rights."

After Reid finally admitted that he knew about the domestic surveillance program, he again tried to shift blame to the White House, saying: "This is something that's [the responsibility of] the president and the vice president and there's no way he can pass the buck."

The top Democrat declined to explain why he didn't raise objections when he was first briefed on the spy program that suddenly has Democrats and the media up in arms.

Reid also had some uncomfortable moments when confronted with the fact that his campaign had received funds from lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his clients and was asked if he would return the funds, as have other congressmen from both parties. Reid testily insisted that he had not received any of the $66,000 that Wallace referred to. That should be easy enough to prove.

He also tried to insist that this is a Republican scandal, despite the fact that congressmen of both parties had received funds. Reid's discomfort said it all. He may not have done anything wrong, but he's now been called on the funds he received, so let the tap dance begin.