Arguing Democrats "may be looking for trouble" if they raise domestic spy issue with Alito, CNN's Toobin falsely suggested that public supports Bush's

During CNN's January 9 live coverage of the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings regarding Judge Samuel A. Alito's Supreme Court nomination, CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin claimed that "the Democrats may be looking for trouble" in criticizing the Bush administration's recently disclosed warrantless domestic surveillance program. According to Toobin: "[I]t is an issue where a lot of Americans think, 'We're spying on Al Qaeda? Good. The more the better.' And I think defining the issue as civil liberties, not protecting us from Al Qaeda, that's a difficult challenge for the Democrats." However, by framing the issue as a choice between national security and civil liberties, Toobin set up precisely the false debate Bush administration officials have advocated when defending the program and attacking its critics. Moreover, polling indicates that a majority of Americans believe the Bush administration should be required to obtain a warrant before monitoring communications involving people inside the United States.
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