[ihsw]

That's assuming the NSA is interested in playing politics. General Alexander may be well-versed in public speaking but I'd be hard-pressed to think managing political allegiances is of interest to him.

Also, the various federal executive agencies (Justice Department, State Department, et al) may very well be tapping into NSA data as much as possible for exactly what you're describing, especially since the recent DEA (Justice) and IRS (Treasury) revelations have shed some light on this.

The NSA's dam for controlling information dissemination has cracks in it, and I'm betting it'll be wedged wide open for the federal executive agencies to use at their convenience.

[amirmc]

"... but I'd be hard-pressed to think managing political allegiances is of interest to him."

Everyone operating at that kind of level has an interest in political allegiances (lowercase p). It's just part of the job. To not have such an interest means you'll simply be out-gamed and replaced by someone who does.