Why FISA was enacted in the first place

For anyone who may have forgotten, it was because of the abuse of Presidential power by this man.

Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, among others in the current administration, worked in the Nixon administration and Cheney, in particular and by all accounts, deeply resented Nixon's fall from grace and subsequent checks on Presidential power. Our country is living with the results of his tireless efforts to remove those constraints and a return to Nixon-era policies and attitudes, perfectly exemplified by Nixon's famous quote: "Well, when the president does it that means that it is not illegal." If the current FISA legislation that was developed in secret by Steny Hoyer is passed today by the Democratically controlled Congress, as it is expected to do, Dick Cheney should probably rummage around in the White House basement for that "Mission Accomplished" banner, unfurl it on the lawn, and do a little tap dance for reporters.