I prefer the devil I know. I voted for Obama because he sold me on his knowledge and respect for the constitution. I sincerely thought that he was the antithesis of GW Bush. The Chompsky insight is a good one. These powers aren't necessarily terrifying now, but they certainly could be and it doesn't take much for circumstances to change. Imagine if the British crown had this level of intelligence gathering capacity during the American Revolution
Great analogy, one that should really hit home on both sides of the electorate. I really think this is an issue that both the right and left can coalesce around. Tea Party/OWS have some common ground here. If the people that comprised those movements really want to effect change, well... here's a good place to start.