Obama Defends Surveillance Programs

President Obama “offered a robust defense of the government surveillance programs revealed this week, and sought to reassure the public that his administration has not become a Big Brother with eyes and ears throughout the world of online communications,” the New York Times reports.

Obama “acknowledged that the public may be uncomfortable with the broad reach of the formerly secret programs, but he said he believed the government had struck the right balance between the need to fight terrorism and the need to protect privacy.”

National Journal: “The latest surveillance program in the news is the most intrusive, and investigating who leaked it will be a stiff test of administration restraint.”