Domestic spying hearings

I had a little time to listen to the hearings today, particularly Attorney General Gonzales' testimony. What a load. The more confrontational congressmen caught him in several inconsistencies, but he just kept coming back to the position that the president has the authority to do whatever he pleases. They claim that in 'time of war' this is essential. Well, Congress is the only body that can declare war, and I don't believe they've done so. The administration uses this excuse capriciously to justify any action the president might want to take.
Using the criteria of the fight (war?) against Al Qaeda and other groups who would do us harm, haven't we always been at war? After WWII we were in the cold war, the Korean war, the drug war, Panama, etc. Using the Bush administration's rationale, any president at any time should be able to claim we are at war and do whatever he pleases. It's a sorry excuse that Stalin and Saddam himself used to great affect. We've already seen that our government has spied on the likes of Dr. King, Greenpeace, trade unions, opposition political parties, and other terrible threats to national security.
One senator asked Mr. Gonzales what checks to abuse of power exist if the Prez doesn't have to obtain a warrant through FISA? He shucked and jived, but didn't answer the question. The administration's position is that we all must just trust them. Well, they haven't proven very trustworthy in my book. And gee, let's see, have any previous administrations abused their authority? Yes. Sorry George, I'm afraid I can't take you at your word.
Another interesting tack was taken by, I think, senator Hatch. As one might expect from a Bush apologist, he tried to give the AG an out by asking whether the Clinton administration had performed some similar warrantless surveillance. The AG replied that it had. This is unverified, but even if true, it's a specious argument. Let's see, a democrat broke the law, that makes it ok for a republican to break the same law?! So if the guy down the block robs the 7-11, I can do the same thing and claim it's ok because it was done before?! These guys need to study a bit more on logic and ethics.