Few issues these days seem to demagnetize the political polarity in Congress.

President Bush's decision to wiretap international phone calls is no exception.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testified on Monday before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the constitutionality of the administration's wiretapping. He instead evaded questions from both Republican and Democratic senators. He refused to say how many calls have been tapped. He refused to give the circumstances surrounding the tapping. And he declined to indicate if wiretapping has actually stopped or deterred any terrorist activity. He refused to say anything of real substance.

Pennsylvania's Republican Sen. Arlen Specter urged Gonzales and Bush to use the secret, national security courts to obtain warrants for the wiretapping. Gonzales replied that that he would be "continually looking at ways" to work with the courts to fight the war on terrorism.

Translation: The president knows what's right for Americans' national security and he doesn't need a court of law to tell him what's best.

This is a flawed approach to ensure national security. If it is so vital to protect and spread the ideals of a liberal democratic society, then why purposefully work at eroding the rights that such a society affords its citizens? Why are American citizens financing a war on terror that is costing them the very rights and ideals that the administration says it's advancing?

Of course, it has not been revealed just how integral the information obtained from the wiretaps has been in thwarting terrorists. The administration cannot even claim success in halting attacks as a defense in its wiretapping efforts.

It's true that protecting citizens is a principal purview of government. It must, however, be done according to the rule of law, no matter how evil the enemy, no matter how seductive the means of foiling that enemy may appear. Invading the privacy of citizens under the mantle of national security has the potential to erode rights, and it is a perilous maneuver.

We ought to live by the rule of law, and it's refreshing that both sides are working to preserve citizens' rights.