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Syc, I think it's a more complicated matter than it looks. I think incompetent presidencies result in much greater loss of civil rights just due to uncertainty. I think civil rights are what you lose when the people aren't watching, and I think they're watching right now, although they always have blind spots. And I think there are times in civilizations when people desperately want to give up their civil rights, and I think a poorly-run War on Terror would lead to such times.
Also, there's a strange factor at work with the presidency. Sometimes you have to vote for the exact opposite of what you want. Only a president from the south, LBJ, could enact the civil rights acts of his day. Only Nixon could go to China. Only Bush Sr could sign the Clean Air Act. Only Clinton could enact welfare reform and NAFTA.
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