Once again, President George W. Bush has raised the specter of terrorists to support a threat to veto congressional action. Once again he is trying to convince Americans that only with unfettered power can his administration protect them from those who would do harm to this country.

That threat rings particularly hollow, however, in the case of a bill that would provide a limited shield for journalists to protect their sources — a bill that passed the House of Representatives 398-21 on Tuesday.

The Free Flow of Information Act has been carefully crafted to include specific exceptions to protect national security. To reinforce that idea, the House accepted language proposed by Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, that allows judges to consider the public interest in forcing disclosure in cases involving leaks that could be harmful to national security. The bill also provides an exception when there’s a possibility of imminent bodily harm, and it includes a balancing test for determining when a reporter can be compelled to reveal a source.

That’s appropriate because the backers of the bill are not looking for special privileges. What they want is the same kind of protection journalists have in 33 states, including Nevada, and the District of Columbia.

But the bill isn’t really about keeping journalists out of prison — though the impetus for it was the pointless jailing of New York Times reporter Judith Miller. Instead, it’s about protecting those who would blow the whistle on illegal or unethical government practices; it’s about preventing the government from using the threat of jailed journalists as a cudgel to shut up those who would shine a light on the dark corners of our government.

As conservative Republican Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., a co-sponsor of the bill, said, it’s “not about protecting reporters; it’s about protecting the public’s right to know.”

The House of Representatives this week showed the president just how important it considers that protection.

Now it’s up to the Senate to join in and demonstrate that this time he’s not going to win the veto fight.

— Reno (Nev.) Gazette-Journal, Oct. 18