Legislators question domestic surveillance

''I think Karl Rove made a big mistake last Friday to use this issue as his opening salvo to Republican operatives," said Representative Jane Harman of California, the senior Democrat on the Intelligence Committee.

''The terrorists aren't going to check our party registration before they blow us up. . . . We're under attack as America," Harman said on ABC's ''This Week."

The White House press secretary, Scott McClellan, accused Democrats yesterday of making ''misleading and outlandish charges about this vital tool that helps us do exactly what the 9/11 Commission said we needed to do -- connect the dots."

Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, appearing on ''Fox News Sunday," said the threats emphasize a greater need for Bush to consult fully with lawmakers from both parties on a the best strategy for spy programs within the confines of the law.

''Do I think that the president's leadership has been worthy of support of our party and our leadership? Yes," McCain said. But he questioned efforts to paint Democrats as weak on national security.

''There's too many good Democrats over there who are as concerned about national security and work just as hard as I do," McCain said.

On Friday, Rove outlined a blueprint for Republicans to prevail in the midterm elections. He suggested that Democrats have undermined antiterror efforts by questioning Bush's authority to allow wiretapping without getting court approval.

Bush has cited a congressional resolution passed after Sept. 11, 2001, that authorized him to use force in the fight against terror.

The program allows eavesdropping of international phone calls and e-mail messages of people who might be seen as deemed a terror risk.

Several legislators from both parties, including McCain and the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, Arlen Specter, have questioned the program's legality.

Senator George Allen, Republican of Virginia, who is considered a possible 2008 presidential contender, said there are many security measures he doesn't know -- and shouldn't know -- because it could risk alerting the enemy.

Others on the news shows said that if the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act does not give Bush tools he needs to monitor potential threats, the president should ask Congress to change the law.