The people (you remember them, We the People) need to realize that our outrage over the warrantless spying isn't the usual partisan sniping and snarking -- that this is something serious. How do we get them thinking about the Constitution?
Here's my thought for how we could start.
Dems buy a prime time hour on the networks. Yeah, it'll cost money. So what. And this hour will feature someone with a little star power, someone who'll draw viewers who otherwise might not pay attention. Right? Okay. Turn on your tube.
OPENING SHOT: A night view of the monuments of Washington, and then into the National Archives. There's a man there. Focus in.
"Hi, I'm Barack Obama, and I'm here at the National Archives. I'm here to talk to you about something important -- and here it is, right here. This is the Constitution. And next to it is the Bill of Rights. Take a good look. They're the documents that spell out what makes us a nation of liberty and law.
"Before the people of Illinois sent me to serve in the Senate, I taught constitutional law. They say the best way to learn is to teach, so I think I can say I learned a lot about these two documents. One thing I learned was that the framers, the people who wrote the Constitution, were pretty smart.
"When I got to the Senate, I swore on the Bible to uphold and defend the Constitution. I swore on the Bible to protect it and defend it. On the Bible!
"When President Bush was inaugurated, he swore the same thing, on the Bible. All the senators and congresspeople swear that, too. And in the states, too. Even the volunteers who help you register to vote in my home state of Illinois swear to uphold the Constitution.
"Obviously it's a pretty important document.
"What are some of the things in it that we all swore to uphold?"
(and he goes on with all his eloquence, teaching the people what's so important here and why the President's violating the Constitution isn't like you and me violating our local parking ordinance.)
Think it'd work?