(CNSNews.com) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama returned to the Senate Wednesday to vote in favor of a terrorist surveillance bill, drawing fire from some of his most liberal supporters as well as Republicans who accused him of flip-flopping.
 
Obama has moved to the center on numerous issues since securing the Democratic presidential nomination, according to many political analysts. However, support for the compromise version of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) -- giving the president limited authority to spy on communications of U.S. residents contacting people outside the country – has presented a challenge for the Illinois senator.
 
In late 2007, Obama pledged to filibuster any FISA bill that gave immunity to telecommunication companies. His Senate office spokesman Michael Ortiz said Obama “unequivocally opposes giving retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies.” Ortiz continued, “Granting such immunity undermines the constitutional protections Americans trust the Congress to protect. Sen. Obama supports a filibuster of this bill, and strongly urges others to do the same.”
  
The major sticking point in the FISA legislation was that President Bush threatened to veto the bill unless it immunized telecommunications companies, such as AT&T and Verizon, from privacy lawsuits. Democrats opposed the immunity measure, as about 40 such lawsuits have already been filed.
 
After Obama announced last month that he would not filibuster the bill, more than 1,000 supporters who had blogged on his campaign Web site urged him to stick with his past position.
 
Also, the Daily Kos, among the most prominent blogs on the political left, criticized Obama for “stabbing your allies in the back” in regard to FISA and other issues.
 
“First, he reversed course and capitulated on FISA, not just turning back on the Constitution, but on the whole concept of ‘leadership,’” Markos Moulitsas, founder of the Daily Kos wrote. “Personally, I like to see presidents 1) lead, and 2) uphold their promise to protect the Constitution.”
 
In response to his supporters urging him not to support the bill, Obama said: “This was not an easy call for me. I know that the FISA bill that passed the House is far from perfect. I wouldn't have drafted the legislation like this, and it does not resolve all of the concerns that we have about President Bush's abuse of executive power.” 
 
“Given the choice between voting for an improved yet imperfect bill, and losing important surveillance tools, I've chosen to support the current compromise,” Obama said. “I do so with the firm intention -- once I’m sworn in as President -- to have my attorney general conduct a comprehensive review of all our surveillance programs, and to make further recommendations on any steps needed to preserve civil liberties and to prevent executive branch abuse in the future.”  
 
It is very disappointing that both Obama and Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain of Arizona support the bill, said Michelle Richardson, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union.
 
“By supporting this bill, it’s a signal about what they believe their authority should be in the future,” Richardson told Cybercast News Service. “It’s very disturbing that most likely our next president believes he has the authority to warrantlessly wiretap on American soil.
 
She also said she was disappointed in Obama, because, in her view, there is no substantive difference in the bill he said he would oppose several months ago and the bill he voted for on Wednesday.
 
“The bill that they’re voting on today is so similar to the original Senate bill that he opposed -- we are disappointed that he is going to vote in favor of it,” she said. “It should still warrant a no vote from people who are concerned about civil liberties.”
 
After the bill passed Wednesday, Obama spokesman Bill Burton noted that Obama voted for the failed amendments to remove the immunity measures, but ultimately thought the bill was an improvement.
 
“Given the choice between voting for an improved yet imperfect bill, and losing important surveillance tools, Senator Obama chose to support the FISA compromise,” Burton said in a statement. “As president, Barack Obama will carefully monitor the program, review the report by the Inspectors General, and work with the Congress to take any additional steps he deems necessary to protect the lives - and the liberty - of the American people.”
 
But the McCain campaign did not miss the chance to call out his opponent’s inconsistency on the issue.
 
"A few short months ago, Barack Obama outwardly opposed terrorist surveillance legislation, saying that he would filibuster any bill that includes immunity for American telecommunications companies that had been asked by the government to participate in the program,” McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said in a statement prior to the Senate vote.
 
“Today, the U.S. Senate will approve legislation providing the immunity Barack Obama supposedly opposed,” said Bounds, “and despite his promise, he will not support a filibuster. What Barack Obama will do is show that he's willing to change positions, break campaign commitments and undermine his own words in his quest for higher office."
 
The issue erupted after The New York Times reported in late 2005 that President Bush had directed the surveillance of communications going in and out of the United States without the permission of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, established about three decades earlier to approve surveillance. The Bush administration referred to it as the “terrorist surveillance program.”
 
The new legislation allows the government to obtain year-long intercept orders from the FISA court that target foreign groups and people. The original FISA law required the government to get warrants for each individual targeted for surveillance. The bill also expands from three days to a week the time in which the government must apply for a retroactive court order should it have to do an emergency wiretap.