For seven years, President George W. Bush tried to frighten the American public — and successfully cowed Congress — with bullying and disinformation
Mr. Obama was exactly right when he said Americans do not have to choose between security and their democratic values. By denying those values, the Bush team fed the furies of anti-Americanism, strengthened our enemies and made the nation more vulnerable.
Such clarity of thought is unlikely to end the partisan posturing. It certainly didn’t quiet former Vice President Dick Cheney, who was fear-mongering in full force on Thursday.
The problem is not the crime of terrorism, which the judicial system can normally handle. It is the way Mr. Bush undermined that system — and this country’s reputation and security — with his policies of arbitrary detention and abuse.
clipped from: www.nytimes.com