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1) I am tired of hearing the argument that other presidents and administrations did the same thing. Even if that were true, that is a poor argument.

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It isn't a poor argument - either the person using the argument is using it incorrectly or you're not getting it. The point of this argument is not to excuse the current administration's abuses. The point is to demonstrate the fallacy of those who use the current administration's abuses as evidence that their favored side would be better overlords than the current administration.

Replacing "R" thugs with "D" thugs isn't going to fix this problem.

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This argument is overused in all walks of life. Two wrongs do not make a right and previous administration behavior does not excuse Bush. Are baseball players excused from using steroids because others were doing it? Of course not. Even if other administrations did this, I trust the current one much less to draw the line. That is partly my bias, but I think many people will agree with that point. Bush and his most ardent supporters seem totally unwilling to admit a mistake. This is what worries me. If people keep justifying one thing after another, my question is where does it stop. There is obviously a trade-off where protecting liberties becomes more important than stopping terrorists. It seems like many are willing to go much further before drawing that line.