Last week, I wrote about the need to get to the bottom of one critical question, “whether Obama’s statements are intentionally obtuse and misleading, or just an outright lie.” I think the answer of this question will ultimately determine the fate of the Obama Administration, and whether or not he will finish his term. Knowing that Edward Snowden’s application of sunlight to the NSA’s unconstitutional spying apparatus has more revelations to come, it appears to me that the public is beginning to wise up to the “Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them.” Sadly, as a U.S. Senator, Al Franken — the author of that book and its critique of the right-wing punditocracy — has taken to defending the lies and the lying liars who tell them when they are told by Democrats.

But a spied-upon United States public (not to mention a spied-upon European Union) does not take kindly to liars or their apologists, and the Democrats are alienating both their friends and enemies. The first casualty of this growing scandal will clearly be the Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, who outright lied to Congress back in March: