Esteemed San Francisco criminal defense lawyer and past NACDL President Ephraim Margolin writes in his San Francisco Chronicle commentary, Due Process Under Fire / Security or freedom?:

"We gave the president the benefit of the doubt, hoping that his vision would prevail. We imagined that the wise people around Bush would soften his occasionally harsh rhetoric and seek a national consensus. We thought that Bush would grow with his job. "

"But then we got John Ashcroft. The more we rallied around the president, the harsher the attorney general became. While our attention remained focused on the war on terrorism, the Bill of Rights was increasingly short-changed into a Bill of Rules, exempting only the right to carry guns. All branches of government coalesced behind the president, and the country went on a war footing. "

"Though we can still support Bush in the war on terrorism, the America we love can win that war only if in the process we do not lose our liberties, our openness and our governmental accountability. We need to remember that in fighting for freedom, we should not sacrifice it blindly ourselves."