[the_tyrant]

Of course not, he is an addict.
For decision makers, there is nothing more addicting than information.
A friend of mine who is ex-stasi tells me that information is the greatest addiction, far more addictive than heroin or nicotine.
Think about it like this:
before we had easy access to information through channels like the internet, we make many decisions blind. Should I buy this car, or that car? Well back in the day all I had was magazines and what the dealer tells me to base my decision on. Nowadays with the internet, I can literally read millions of reviews, and check every little detail of the car in question. I would never buy a car without checking the internet now.
Imagine playing an RTS game, but with you as the only player who can see every unit on the map. Thats what the politician feels like.
Imagine the same thing with a politician. Why would he make blind decisions when he has a powerful source of information? Why would he “go blind” into a decision making process?
This is why at most I believe Obama would pay lip service to limiting the NSA, but not actually do anything about it. After all, if my buddy in the Stasi can find work post Berlin wall in intelligence (he is private sector now), and most of his Stasi and KGB buddies can still find work (mostly with successor organizations), I believe the same thing with happen with the NSA. Maybe some of them will get “fired”, some would end up working for the private sector, but most will be rehired as an “outside consultant”