2013: In an evil alternate universe, where things are different, and Candidate Romney actually became President Romney...
Due to the actions of a whistleblower, It was announced that President Romney not only approved of Bush's secret spying programs, but thanks to the Hard work of President Obama, his secret spying programs were now totally legal!
This came as a great shock to many Liberals and Democrats who had been assured for years that their President had in fact refuted and abhorred the abuses of the Bush administration. Many suspected that Romney was in fact lying about the previous administration's actions and called for investigation.
(More gloom on the flip)
However, the major media outlets assured the American public that the Republicans were doing everything in their power to ensure that America remained safe. The patriotism of those who questioned the NSA's program was challenged, and many ethnic dishes were renamed in governmental cafeterias when foreign governments objected to the programs.
In a landmark speech, President Romney assured the American people that America was a business. All business have trade secrets, and the need to keep abreast of the actions of their employees. Not every person who works on an assembly line has the launch codes for the drones they create, after all.
After an amazingly short investigation, it was determined that the whistle blower had ties to Iran and a radical offshoot of Al Qaeda known as Asheet Mahdrurhs. Despite Iranian officials vehement protests and denial, Rmoney sent a hostile takeover intent letter to Iran, followed by the mobilization of several divisions. This of course was immediately seen as a necessary war by all REAL Americans, and the media eagerly reinforced that message. Protests in the street were immediately ignored by an emergency media and internet blackout, with the assistance of Google, Yahoo, Comcast and AT&T and dispersed with the aid of the National Guard. Casualties were zero, because all injuries and deaths were deemed "Suicide by Cop."
Back at home, the NSA and FBI completed "Operation Hippy Punch" and rounded up the last of the protestors as well as their sympathizers through the assistance of their recently created "American Support Service Helping Officers Locate Extremists". Referring to this service was made a federal crime, because of the high degree of secrecy involved. Amazingly, many of the suspects seemed to be highly informed of the program, due to them identifying agents by their acronym regularly.
Fortunately, the Democratic party managed to come together quickly, condemning Romney's programs as "Unwise", and "Slightly Overreaching". Several members of the Senate sent Strongly Worded Letters to the President, urging him to reconsider his actions. The good news of course, was that the party was convinced that they would be poised to sweep the 2014 midterms, and possibly retake the House!