For his employees at the N.S.A., whose mission is foreign intelligence, avoiding purely domestic eavesdropping appears to have been crucial.

To date, however, Democrats have been careful to calibrate their public statements about the N.S.A.'s domestic eavesdropping and data-mining programs.

The domestic eavesdropping authorized by President Bush was an important and at times emotional part of the floor debate over the Patriot Act.

News that the president authorized secret domestic eavesdropping by the National Security Agency only sharpened their worries and doomed renewal this year.

The extent of the National Security Agency's domestic warrantless eavesdropping under the President's Surveillance Program is still largely unknown.

Others talked of expanding domestic eavesdropping, an idea that makes those concerned about civil liberties uncomfortable.

Last week, the center filed a class-action suit against President Bush and other administration officials over the National Security Agency's domestic eavesdropping without warrants.

I do not disagree with his view that the president overstepped his powers with respect to domestic eavesdropping.

But there has been no suggestion from the government that domestic eavesdropping without warrants played a role in that case.

Warrants for domestic eavesdropping were not only easily available, but could even be obtained retroactively.