There are good guys and bad guys in every movie. They are all actors in a movie that gives the illusion that they are actually governing in people's interest. Read Chomsky's Manufactured Consent and see beyond the illusion.
I think a Republican administration would have would have been way worse on those issues, and not much different on civil liberties or privacy.
I have a difficult time getting excited that one party changes their mind when 51% of voters support something, while the other party waits until 60% support it.
You can repeat that story with the drug war (fighting over the 18:1 or 200:1 disparity in crack:powder cocaine sentences without actually reexamining what the hell we're doing) or fiscal policy (should we cut taxes for 99% of people or 100% of people, and should we cut government spending by $1T or $1.1T) or even health care (where no one has the stomach to even mention the words 'single payer').
> I have a difficult time getting excited that one party changes their mind when 51% of voters support something, while the other party waits until 60% support it.
Okay, don't get excited then, that's your right. I just can't buy the argument that a McCain or Romney administration would have been no different than the Obama Administration on all the issues. That's painting with a broad brush.