If President Obama wanted the NSA to quit storing phone metadata, he’d act now

As chief executive, Obama has the power to reform the NSA on his own with the stroke of a pen. By not putting this initiative into an executive order, he punted to Congress on an issue that affects the civil liberties of most anybody who picks up a phone. Every day Congress waits on the issue is another day Americans' calling records are being collected by the government without suspicion that any crime was committed.

The president won't scrap the phone metadata surveillance altogether; it's unrealistic in today’s climate of paranoia. But Obama could turn his words into immediate reality with a stroke of his pen.