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I think we have learned something valuable here. Even moderate politicians calculate that if they take a stand and declaim "for our freedom and the Constitution", and their opponent yells back "you're empowering the terrorists!", the politicos believe that the latter will resonate, and the former hold no sway. I fear that in more than half the Congressional constituencies in America (ironically, the ones least likely to be attacked by terrorists) they are right. This has become a battle of fear versus principle, and principle is losing in the White House, Congress, the Media, and large segments of the electorate (only the Courts have taken an occasional stand for principle). I now see the 2006 Midterm elections as a vote against failure, not a vote for anything.
