Congressional oversight and a balance of power are key.

John McCain: There are constant threats to our privacy. We’ve seen that in China as far as the violation of the rights of the people in China. Because we have to have a very active congressional oversight and balance of power government. We cannot allow the president to violate laws unless he is willing to take the responsibility for that. We cannot have them issue signing statements that basically say that he or she won’t . . . won’t obey a law. We’ve got to have better cooperation between various agencies, particularly the intelligence committees and other agencies of government in preserving individuals’ rights, and at the same time preserving our nation’s security. And that’s a careful balance, and it changes all the time with advances and changes in telecommunications technology. But it’s gotta be a spirit of cooperation, not a spirit of partisanship and anger.

Recorded on: 11/20/07