As the Congress rushes to finish a bunch of major legislation before taking a July 4th break, Democratic leaders are trying to figure out how to help Barack Obama deal with a potentially difficult vote on terrorism surveillance legislation.

At issue is a bill on terror surveillance that pretty much was a victory for the Bush Administration after months of deadlock.

"Democrats Cave On FISA" was one of the many headlines on more liberal blogs that said President Bush had won the battle over the issue, which includes retroactive immunity for major telephone companies that helped with warrantless wiretaps after Nine Eleven.

At first, Obama had said he opposed any such deal, but now he has professed his partial support for the bill, though he opposes the immunity provision.

That "I opposed it before I supported it sort of" isn't washing with some groups like MoveOn.Org, which has been trying to pressure Obama to filibuster the FISA bill in the Senate this week.

"Can you call Senator Obama today and tell him you're counting on him to keep his word? Ask him to block any compromise that includes immunity for phone companies that helped Bush break the law," says a MoveOn.Org appeal.

Now Senate Democratic leaders are trying to help Obama squeeze out of this one, as they evidently will employ some parliamentary sleight of hand to try and "split" the bill, so he can vote for the new terror surveillance rules, but against the telecommunications company immunity.

"(Obama) has an opportunity, not only as a senator, but as the putative head of the Democratic Party, to block retroactive telecom immunity as he has pledged to do," said one post at MyDD.

Republicans of course would love to cap the run to the July 4th break by knocking Obama around on the Senate floor, or at least watching him flounder....so I would bet they'll do all they can to prevent any parliamentary protection for the Illinois Senator.

Of course, we don't really have old time filibusters any more, where lawmakers like Sen. Strom Thurmond actually spoke for over 24 hours straight in an effort to kill a piece of Civil Rights Legislation.

And nothing against Obama, but he's not really the filibustering type of Senator.

In fact, most of the 100 Senators now in office aren't really the filibustering, shake-it-up type either.  I sure hope that changes, because the Senate has sort of become the same-ole, same-ole.

Neither side has 60 votes to pass anything, so for the most part, we have this charade where the party in power denounces the party in the minority for being a bunch of serial filibusterers.

Then when the party in the minority becomes the party in power, they accuse the new party in the minority of being a bunch of serial filibusterers.

There's no Sen. Al d'Amato (R-NY) anymore, who danced and sang his way through the night in 1992 in a filibuster to register his anger about jobs being lost at an upstate New York typewriter factory.

I stuck around for most of that one.  D'Amato came up to the press gallery the next day and autographed a photo of a dinosaur for me, comparing himself

I can't imagine Hillary Clinton filibustering all night.  Maybe Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) could do it, but he wouldn't be my first pick.

Unfortunately, there aren't many Senators currently in office who would be able to do a 24-hour filibuster.  I'm just not sure it is in their political genes.

Obama just doesn't seem like the type that would lead a filibuster.  He would help out, but he would probably want to do the 6pm-8pm shift.

John McCain has had the chance to filibuster some major pieces of legislation, but he's the type of Senator who rails against this provision and that outrage on the next page, but then he relents and lets the Senate vote on the bill and leave town.

I can't remember anytime that McCain has actually led a filibuster on something.  And he certainly has had the chance while pointing out all kinds of egregious pork barrel projects in major spending bills.

So back to the headline.  Barack Obama might be on the spot this week on the terror surveillance (or FISA) bill.  Liberals want him to filibuster, Senate Democratic leaders are trying to give him an out and most of America isn't even paying attention.