Americans are generally comfortable with the current balance between national security concerns and individual liberties.

Nearly a third of the respondents in a Rasmussen Reports survey (32%) say that our legal system worries too much about individual rights at the expense of national security. A similar number (29%) say there is too much concern for national security at the expense of individual liberties. Twenty-seven percent (27%) say that the current balance is about right.

When it comes to questions about the balance between security and liberty, Americans are evenly divided between those who trust President Bush and those who trust Democrats in Congress.

Thirty-three percent (33%) of Americans believe that President Bush broke the law by authorizing the National Security Agency (NSA) program that burst onto the news last month. That's very similar to the number who believe the President should be impeached and removed from office.

Fifty percent (50%) of Americans say the President did not break the law.

This result is also consistent with earlier data showing that just 26% believe that President Bush is the first to authorize a program allowing the NSA to intercept phone calls between suspected terrorists and U.S. citizens.

Fifty-two percent (52%) of Democrats believe the President broke the law. Just 15% of Republicans agree. As for those not affiliated with either major party, 33% say the President broke the law. Forty-six percent (46%) say he did not.

By a 46% to 21% margin, liberals say the courts are too concerned with national security. By a 42% to 13% margin, conservatives believe the courts are too concerned with individual liberties.

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