No one is really surprised the drone program was not to be recognized by the White House press secretary, right?

It is a concern of Americans and rightfully so. There are basically two issues. When is the use of drones by the USA considered war and what gives any such program the right to exist that is a direct threat of American lives?

Robert Gibbs brought up an interesting point. This program existed before President Obama took office. In all honesty, we don't know how rigorous this program was before it has become a focus of the media after the death of an American citizen in Yemen followed by his son. The reason I believe the program was not a focus is because Iraq was. 

The American people were vigilant of their soldiers in Iraq. They were being killed as well as neglected by the government. They were initially sent to war without sufficient armor and literally dropped off in Iraq to make the most of a bad situation.

When the Iraq War ended and the troops ended their presence there, the American people were then presented with a new reality. Drones and their threat to Americans. 

There is a good chance the nation won't know a great deal about the program until it is declassified a couple decades from now. We can monitor it and read about it and decide about the appropriate nature of the program as we understand it now, but, whether or not today's reality is a good measure of the program since inception is hard to say.