I've posted before that presidential candidates have little realistic idea about what it is like to be President of the United States. Their campaigns for the presidency are littered with references to what they will do if elected and rarely if ever reference the United States Congress (which is the only federal lawmaking body and appropriator of federal funds). We, in turn, have come to believe that a President operates in isolation from the other two branches of the federal government.

By listening to and reading statements by many Americans, it is evident that there is a fundamental misunderstanding not only about Constitutional provisions, but about the National Security Agency's actions regarding phone records.