WASHINGTON - Fears of Big Brother may be more important than collecting Big Data, President Obama conceded Friday as he said Aloha to the capital for 2013.
Before heading to Hawaii on vacation, he held his final press conference and said that the controversial practice of secretly collecting records of Americans’ phone calls may be outweighed by public fears of the program’s “potential abuse.”
In recent days, a federal judge has suggested that the bulk collection of phone records, or metadata, is probably unconstitutional, while an independent advisory panel called for a total revamp of surveillance efforts in a harsh critique of National Security Agency programs.
Edward Snowden, the fugitive former NSA contractor, leaked the existence of key, previously secret programs. The many issues inspired by them prompted a series of questions and very lengthy Obama answers that harkened back to his days as a constitutional law professor.
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“People are concerned about the prospect, the possibility of abuse,” Obama said.
“The question we’re going to have to ask is can we accomplish the same goals in ways that give the public more confidence that the NSA is doing what it’s supposed to be doing.”
Obama was also predictably peppered with questions about his problem-plagued health care program and conceded again that, “We screwed-up.”
“Even though I was meeting every other week, or every three weeks, with folks and emphasizing the importance of consumer experience, the fact is that it didn’t happen in the first month, in the first six weeks, in a way that was at all acceptable.”
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Conceding he was in charge, he said, “We screwed it up.”
Obama was scheduled by nightfall to head to Hawaii, where he spent much of his youth, for a two-week vacation.
He opened with an upbeat statement about the economy, and growing consumer interest in Obamacare, before being questioned about ongoing ills of the health care program, his sharply declining approval ratings and the attacks on U.S. surveillance practices.
He deflected a question as to whether 2013 was the worst of his presidency, amid polling that indicated Americans trust in him is declining.
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But he did voice chagrin that a significant legislative priority, immigration reform, had at least temporarily run aground in the Republican-led House of Representatives after passing the Senate.
He also indicated disappointment in not getting legislation on background checks for many gun purchases passed after the Newtown tragedy.
Obama was to head to Honolulu on Air Force One and not return to Washington until Jan. 5.
He did so as the Senate wound down its modest work and also planned to head to vacation.
