“Honey, you might have an affair…”

The Republican yes-monkeys to Bush’s illegal wire tapping, e-mail reading, and otherwise spying on Americans like to argue, “Well, if you’re not a terrorist, then you have nothing to worry about.”

Which is a little like your spouse / significant other coming to you and saying, “Honey, I don’t think you are having an affair, but we know that lots of people do cheat. So I want to be able to read all of your mail, monitor all of your e-mails and get copies of all of your cell phone bills. If you’re not having an affair, then you have nothing to worry about. But you might and I want to be able to catch you at it.”

In other words, you’re presumed to be guilty and must continuously prove your innocence.

I don’t know about the civics classes you took in grade and high school, but my recollection was that the founding fathers believed it ought to be the other way around, and built into the Constitution more than a few provisions designed to safeguard that you are presumed innocent until proven guilty.