But it does demonstrate that untrammeled surveillance powers give political authorities a lot of discretion, and with that discretion exists the potential for abuse. President Obama struck an apologetic tone when it came to spying on German Chancellor Angela Merkel or French President Francois Hollande, but apparently not Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

If you don’t trust this president to make those judgment calls, then maybe the answer isn’t to elect a different president. Perhaps the answer is to limit this presidential power in the first place.

Too many observers who lack faith in this president never discuss this problem as they agitate for piling executive power on top of executive power in order to keep the country safe. Vast executive power means potentially a lot of power in the hands of public figures who don’t like you.