An Excellent Question

Heard on CNN: An intrepid reporter asked some version of the following question of Attorney General Gonzales today during his press conference with DHS Secretary Chertoff:

If, as the administration asserts, the President has the authority to enact new surveillance rules unilaterally, why is the administration concerned about the reauthorization of the Patriot Act? Couldn't the President simply reinstate the lapsed provisions on his own, using the same justification he has so far put forth in the NSA affair?

Good question. In fact, it's the best question I've heard a reporter ask in a long time. Someone should ask the President the same thing.