In the middle of a terror plot, senators are accused of wanting to "weaken" the USA Patriot Act. Fiction? Rather, the latest in advertisement placement.
As - fictional - special agent Jack Bauer runs against the clock to prevent terrorists from acquiring nerve gas in the Fox "24" show, real senators are targeted. The voice that accuses them is that of Debra Byrlingame, the sister of one of the pilots of the plane that hit the Pentagone on 9/11. She is the public face of the Coalition for Security, Liberty and the Law, a group that has in its membership a collection of former Bush administration officials that helped shaped the Patriot Act. Determined to insure its renewal, those veteran hawks are not going after democrats, but after republicans that dared express doubts about the lasting impact of the law on civil liberties.
"What if they are wrong?", asks the ad, echoing the new Karl Rove line. And why expect anyone watching "24" to be impressed by nuances?