The civil libertarian Left and much of the public have reversed positions on phone monitoring since George W. Bush was president.

“I don’t have to listen to your phone calls to know what you’re doing,” said the senator, mounting a vigorous defense of civil liberties against government intrusion. “If I know every single phone call you made, I’m able to determine every single person you talk to. I can get a pattern about your life that is very, very intrusive.”