I think this story will resonate more than the earlier warrantless wiretapping story because on that latter one the administration was more able to convince people that of course THEY wouldn't be impacted, just that bad people would be. People were more bugged by that story than our media would generally let on, but they didn't rise in outrage.
The fact that the administration could more convincingly claim that only "bad people" were monitored didn't make that claim true - in fact it was a ludicrous claim, as one wonders why we aren't arresting all these people - but it still was a claim they were able to convincingly make.
But big TelCo handing over all your phone records to George Bush? Everyone knows they're getting monitored too.
Still, the real issue is that the president believes he is bound by no law. Until people accept that truth, which they've been quite vocal about, this will largely just be a dance.
